(Jul. 24/08) CRFA has joined forces with the Vancouver Police Department and the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association in a new public safety initiative aimed at keeping suspected members of organized crime groups out of Vancouver restaurants.

Modelled after the Bar Watch program already in place in city bars and clubs, staff and owners of participating Restaurant Watch locations will call police if they suspect either gang members, gang associates, drug traffickers or someone with a "propensity for violence" has entered the premises.

To ensure the safety and security of staff and patrons, once they have been alerted to a potential problem, the onus will be on police to determine if the people are actually removed from the restaurant. In addition, uniform and plainclothes officers will do periodic walk-throughs of participating restaurants.

More than 40 local restaurants have already signed on as participants in Restaurant Watch.