A day after the Vancouver Police Officers Guild issued a press release denouncing a memorandum to stop making arrests for several misdemeanors, including shoplifting and public drug use, the president of the guild, Jeff Anaya, said no good will come from it.

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today

The president of the Vancouver Police Officers Guild said Wednesday that the city is moving in the wrong direction now that a memorandum has been issued restricting the ability of law enforcement officers to make arrests or issue citations for a number of crimes.

Jeff Anaya, who spoke with Clark County Today and also communicated through email for this report, said rank-and-file officers just want to serve the public.

“We got into this profession to stop crime, to deter crime, so people can go about their business and go about their lives in safety,” Anaya said. “This is going to ruin businesses. People are not going to feel safe. Criminals are going to flood here.”

Clark County Today has read the memorandum from Vancouver Police Chief Troy Price to his officers, explaining that the city attorney has asked the department to stop making arrests or issuing citations for a number of misdemeanors, including shoplifting, public drug use, trespassing, and more. The memorandum is dated July 17, 2026.

The guild issued a press release on Tuesday in opposition of the memorandum, which included a list of every crime that is no longer a priority for the city attorney’s office.

Bart Hansen, city councilor, said he could not speak for the rest of the council, but he said he had not heard of the memorandum until Tuesday, when the guild went public with its disappointment in the directive.

“I support our law enforcement enforcing the laws of the city of Vancouver,” Hansen said.

Clark County Today is reaching out to the city manager, the mayor, and the city attorney’s office. Clark County Today will publish any responses.

“This kind of directive does put us on the path to becoming like bigger cities experiencing rising crime, such as Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle,” Anaya said. “This kind of mindset toward law enforcement and public safety is a slippery slope.”

The chief’s memorandum noted that the city’s position is due to “unfunded Washington State Supreme Court mandate which reduced caseloads for public defenders, coupled with budgetary constraints at the city level.” The chief noted that in the past few weeks, 17 cases had been dismissed.

Anaya, via email, said that means this could only be the beginning of more restrictions on law enforcement.

“We aren’t even through the end of July, and the City has already determined that it doesn’t have the funding or ability to provide public defenders. That determination led to a policy of no longer arresting offenders, so the City can pick and choose which cases to pursue. This raises the question: if this doesn’t solve their problem, what other offenses will they mandate we no longer arrest for?”

The city just asked for funding for more officers, and residents responded by approving a levy. The city, Anaya added, is also pushing for a sales tax to fund even more officers. Built into those funding sources was money intended for the prosecution of offenders.

“Now we’re telling the community that we won’t arrest someone who steals from your business, won’t arrest someone for trespassing on your property, and will let drug use continue unchecked,” Anaya said. “That, in and of itself, is horrible.”

There is even more to be concerned with, Anaya added.

Vancouver has a drug court to help people who are addicted, but now law enforcement will not have the resources to get those in need into court to start treatment.

“This is exactly the opposite of what the system should be doing for our community on so many levels,” Anaya said.

“The officers of VPD truly care about the community. We are vastly understaffed, but the impact has been barely noticeable to the community because of the hard work our officers put in every single day,” Anaya said. “But we know what this directive will do to our community. No good will come from it.”

Anaya is afraid Vancouver will start looking like other cities that have put limitations on law enforcement.

“We know how this is going to play out because we’ve seen it,” Anaya said.