City council heard Wednesday that City of Vancouver employees are being threatened, intimidated and assaulted at a rate never seen before in the public-serving organization.
The level of “inappropriate behaviours” is being experienced across all departments, according to Magnus Enfeldt, the city’s chief safety officer, who delivered a presentation to council Wednesday.
“They're increasing both in frequency, complexity and in intensity,” said Enfeldt, noting parking enforcement officers were being assaulted once every two weeks in 2023, and incidents continue to increase.
'A very traumatic experience'
Enfeldt provided several examples to council to show the magnitude of what employees are facing — whether it be handling phone calls, emails or interacting directly with citizens:
• Last fall, an animal control officer found a dog with no tag or licence that was tied to a tree. No one seemed to know who the dog belonged to it, so the officer put the dog in their vehicle.
“The owner ran up to the vehicle and started banging and pounding on it, and more people came — like a mob came and swarmed that vehicle, and started shouting and filming,” said Enfeldt, noting the officer stayed in the vehicle and called 911.
A person then tried to smash the window while the dog’s owner laid down in front of the vehicle to prevent the officer from leaving the scene. Police were yelled at when they arrived, but were able to disperse the mob.
“Needless to say, that was a very traumatic experience for our animal control officer,” he said.
• Sanitation workers have experienced harassment, foul language and had items thrown at them. There have also been times where workers have been placed in chokeholds, said Enfeldt before sharing details of an attack that left an employee with a concussion and broken tooth.
That incident occurred while workers were on a break at a Tim Hortons. A person walked up from behind a female employee in the lineup and struck her on the side of her face.
“That's just completely unprovoked and very targeted,” he said.
Firefighter hit with hammer
• A parking enforcement officer was punched in the face by a taxi driver after being ticketed for stopping in a no-stopping zone. In a similar scenario, an officer had coffee thrown at them by the owner of a vehicle.
• A firefighter had his mask ripped off and was hit on the head by a man armed with a hammer. It was the same man whose van caught fire and inexplicably told firefighters a child was in the burning vehicle.
There was no child inside, as firefighters learned.
“So another one of those very unprovoked situations where we're trying to help [a person],” he said.
• In street operations, an employee was washing a sidewalk on Georgia Street when a person came up from behind and pushed them down.
“You can't see it — you're just attacked,” Enfeldt said. “They happen in an alarming number, these interactions, and it has a long, lasting impact on our teams.”
'Always aggressive'
• At the city’s 311 contact centre, employees hear from callers who are derogatory in their comments. In particular, two callers called 311 more than 400 times as of August 2024.
“And one of them is always aggressive,” he said. “He constantly swears and raises his voice and refers to 311 staff, city staff, VPD — all of staff — in a derogatory manner. He doesn't let staff ask clarifying questions, like, ‘What do you want us to help you with?’ He just wants to berate whoever is there on the line.”
• Park rangers, who continue to enforce bylaws at the CRAB Park encampment and in other parks where homeless individuals sleep, were experiencing two violent incidents per month in the first half of 2024.
Glacier Media responded to one incident on June 19 where police confirmed a ranger was punched in the head by a person in Grandview Park. Police arrested a man in connection with the incident.
In another incident, a ranger was hit over the head with a bottle.
“How would you feel if you were doing a job and a member of the public follows you and tells you, ‘You should be ashamed of yourself for doing your job? And how do you sleep at night? I bet your family is proud of you,’” Enfeldt said. “So this is something that they are experiencing again and again.”
Rangers have been the subject of negative online postings and people have put up posters with rangers’ faces on them, he said. At the same time, homeless advocates have complained that rangers are too heavy-handed in their enforcement.
Body-worn cameras
All of these incidents and others not detailed in Enfeldt’s presentation have city staff upgrading its training for staff, including giving them one-call access to mental health professionals.
The city is also considering new bylaws “to address expectations of public behaviour toward staff” and looking to install more signs in city buildings that explain how inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated.
The city recently removed its staff directory from its website to reduce staff from being targeted. The city’s communications department and security service have also been diligent in contacting social media platforms to remove inappropriate posts.
The number of security guards have increased at city hall and all citizens wanting to attend a council meeting — including media — now have to be screened by guards.
The city is also exploring equipping parking enforcement officers with body-worn cameras and less official-looking uniforms in an effort to reduce interactions that end in an employee being assaulted.
'Incredibly eye-opening'
Councillors were concerned by the findings, with Coun. Mike Klassen calling it “incredibly eye-opening and important information.” Coun. Lisa Dominato said she was concerned with the escalation in threats, acts of intimidation and violence.
“Maybe I'm finding myself increasingly more cynical these days, but I feel like this may be reflective of our current society right now,” she said.
“It just seems to be increasingly polarized, whether it be in the political discourse, whether it be in international violence we're seeing and tensions in the world. So it's a bit disheartening, I have to say, that this is the trend line that we're seeing.”
City manager Paul Mochrie assured Mayor Ken Sim and councillors that none of their social media posts — and subsequent interactions with citizens — was exacerbating the escalation in inappropriate behaviour by citizens.
“My experience with this council is that your communication — certainly towards staff — is respectful,” Mochrie said. “Generally, the communication in this chamber is respectful. So in terms of what's driving this, I wouldn't say that council is a big factor.”
