Saturation patrol in east Vancouver results in 10 arrests

On Wednesday night, a cohort of police officers and volunteers patrolled the streets and business parking lots of east Vancouver looking for criminal activity.

Ten people were arrested in what the Vancouver Police Department calls a saturation emphasis, during which the participants work together to spot crimes — vehicle prowlers, things that seem odd or out of place, or kids running out of a store with a case of beer, as one volunteer previously told The Columbian.

The police department said in a Facebook post that 18 officers from its east and west precinct Neighborhood Response Teams, the Safe Streets Task Force and the traffic unit worked alongside 28 Neighbors On Watch volunteers to carry out the heightened patrols. NOW volunteers are nonconfrontational and do not take enforcement action.

Here are some of the notable arrests, according to police:

• Two traffic stops resulted in three people being taken into custody on multiple misdemeanor warrants.

• Officers prevented a shoplifter from taking off with some goods; the would-be thief had five misdemeanor warrants.

• The occupants of a suspicious RV (location not included in the post) were contacted, and two people were arrested for felony probation violations.

• A hand-to-hand drug sale was witnessed, and one person went to jail for the transaction. Police did not say if they cuffed the buyer or seller.

• A domestic disturbance was witnessed; one person was arrested.

• A car thief with 4 grams of heroin was taken into custody.

The police department said this is the second time it has carried out this kind of emphasis, and there are plans to do it again. Police and volunteers also do similar patrols around the holidays.