Renewed calls for policy changes following random stabbing in downtown Vancouver

There are calls for policy changes when it comes to public safety, following Wednesday’s stabbing in the Downtown core.

There are calls for policy changes when it comes to public safety, following Wednesday’s stabbing in Vancouver's downtown core.

Former B.C. Solicitor General and police chief Kash Heed says without urgent changes, including access to involuntary care, these incidents will keep happening in the downtown core.

“(We need) to get these people off the streets, to get them into treatment, to get them into something where they can actually live and contribute and not be a threat to society while being on our streets.”

Heed says the area has experienced violent incidents in recent months and the public is feeling uneasy.

“Just a few months ago, there was a person who had their hand cut off and a person that was stabbed by the same person”, explains Heed.

The details surrounding the stabbing are still unfolding and while there is little yet known about the suspect, the incident did occur in a very public and busy area.

“This is an area frequented by many people that live in the area, that go to coffee shops, that go to restaurants. It’s only a few blocks from where Taylor Swift is going to be performing," he said.