While Occupy Vancouver protesters have thus far been peaceful, the costs of ensuring they remain that way have been significant.
Less than a week into Vancouver’s version of Occupy Wall Street, the city is already on the hook for more than $500,000. The Occupy movement’s main goal is to call attention to what protesters say is the greed and deceit of the world’s wealthiest 1%.
In a statement released yesterday, the City of Vancouver noted that the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) has incurred extra costs estimated at $390,000.
Most of the VPD’s extra resources were allocated last Saturday when the protests began with a series of unorganized marches through downtown, which required the closure of many streets.
There was also an additional $50,000 spent to have an RCMP tactical unit on standby.
However, the city said “throughout the week overtime costs for the VPD have been reduced and as of [yesterday] there are no incremental costs resulting from the protests.”
The city itself has incurred costs of $87,000 to date.
“This includes costs for staff overtime just prior to and during the first five days of the event when there was great uncertainty about whether this would be a peaceful protest.
“Our recent experience with the Stanley Cup riot led us to ensure that an abundance of precaution was used in the initial stages until we had clarity on what shape the event was going to take.”
Given that Occupy Vancouver has proved to be a “peaceful and respectful protest” the city has adjusted its operational initiatives and reduced daily costs to below $1,000.
Jennifer Harrison
@JHarrisonBIV