"The Beat"

For those who have not seen...

A couple years ago, a two season documentary series was produced following officers from the Vancouver Police BET (Beat Enforcement Team), the squads that patrol what is known as Vancouver's Downtown East Side, a 16 square block area that comprises more than half the crime in all of Vancouver and has the highest HIV positive rate per capita of anywhere in the developed world. The area is an absolute haven for drugs, gangs and a variety of other criminal elements and has been a chronic problem in an otherwise beautiful city for years. 

The series is absolutely awesome, and I blew through all the episodes when I first found it a year or two ago. Season 1 is (mostly, with some exceptions) available on Youtube, but I've finally found someone who has posted season 2, which in my opinion is even better than the first. I'm trying my hardest to find the episodes on DVD or Bluray somewhere but, for now, online is the best I can come up with.

If you want to watch seriously in depth look at policing, what it's like to work the front lines and deal with this stuff on a day to day basis, this is an absolute must-watch. Just wanted to post it here for your enjoyment.

Videos can be found here -> http://www.dailymotion.com/scottkensai

News release on season 2 here-> http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/329128/vancouver-docu-series-the-beat-back-for-second-season/

For season one, search "The Beat VPD" on Youtube.

Enjoy :)