Smaller policing budget for 2011 playoffs vs last year

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Cars were set on fire, businesses were vandalized, and the total bill for property damage could hit $5 million. One week after the Stanley Cup riot, we’re finding out the playoff policing budget was a lot smaller than last year.

It was $648,000, which is just two-thirds of the 2010 playoff estimate. Mayor Gregor Robertson and Police Chief Jim Chu now admit the police presence was too small this year and more officers should have been deployed.

The Globe and Mail obtained documents from a meeting of the Vancouver Police Board’s Finance Committee, which also show the VPD believed fans would be spread out through the Lower Mainland and they did not expect a repeat of the 1994 riot.

The budget was prepared long before there was a decision to set up live sites in the downtown core.

A history of riots

While we may beat ourselves up about what happened last Wednesday, it’s interesting to note that Vancouver has a long history of rioting.

The first big one was back in 1887 when several hundred people marched from City Hall to Coal Harbour where they destroyed shelters belonging to Chinese workers. In 1935, during the heart of the Depression, unemployed mobs marched through the Hudson’s Bay Store smashing display cases.

Many people will remember the 1994 riot after the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup to the New York Rangers in Game 7.

The most recent one — before last week’s — was the melee after Guns ‘n Roses cancelled its concert ten minutes after the band was supposed to go on stage. Two people were hurt and $350,000 worth of damage was done.

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