The priority is homelessness but the message is crime.

Two weeks after declaring homelessness his main goal, Non-Partisan Association mayoral candidate Peter Ladner's election “action plan” instead resembles an anti-crime agenda.

Ladner is promising more cash for new police officers, he's pledging more public dollars for private security and he wants to turn uniformed city workers into the “eyes and ears on the streets.”

But Ladner's cautious platform, made up of more than 50 “priorities,” is short on actual funding promises. It appears only two pledges listed in the NPA's 14-page document would call for significant city funds; neither of them are backed up with dollar signs.

The NPA promised to:

- Increase funding for more police on the streets, and

- Upgrade or replace key police facilities, including the VPD's aging Main Street station.

But NPA mayoral candidate Peter Ladner wouldn't commit to a specific number of officers over three years, suggesting the money may not need to be spent.

“We haven't heard from police yet what the needs are,” Ladner told reporters at the NPA's platform release Thursday. “Their goal is reducing crime, so if they're managing to reduce crime and they're making do with the resources they have, they may not need more resources.”

The NPA also promised to reduce crime by:

- Directing the VPD to ensure more police are “walking the beat.”

- Lobbying for incarceration of chronic offenders and enforcement of returnable warrants, a nod to the so-called “Con-Air” program the VPD has already been pushing.

- Expand the Ambassadors program into new areas of the city, a process already set into motion.

- Using a “shared-funding model” to deal with street disorder and reduce aggressive panhandling, litter, illegal vending and graffiti.

- Establishing community policing centres near SkyTrain stations.

- Expanding the Block Watch and Adopt-a-Block programs

- Training uniformed city workers - parking and bylaw enforcement officers, street sweepers and cleaners - to be the “eyes and ears on the streets” as part of the Block Watch programs.

The majority of the promises focus on “working with,” “collaborating,” or “lobbying,” senior levels of government or other agencies. These include:

- Working with the provincial government to secure additional drug treatment programs, long-term residential recovery programs, before considering more supervised injection sites.

- Working with the provincial government to secure more mental health treatment facilities, special needs housing for the homeless.

- Lobbying senior governments for creative ways to enforce payment of bylaw fines.

- Working with the province, the federal government and TransLink to secure funding for Broadway-UBC line Millenium Line extension.

- Working with Vancouver Coastal Health to establish early drug prevention education programs in schools

- Working with TransLink and the provincial government to establish a public bike-sharing program.

- Working with the province to secure “new major public facilities,” including the new art gallery and a hospital.

- Working with Metro Vancouver to eliminate the free distribution of disposable plastic shopping bags.

- Pressuring the B.C. government to give renters right of return to their rental units.

- Lobbying the federal government for tax reforms that encourage the construction of new rental housing.

But despite the long ask list, Ladner promised to stand up to senior governments looking to download responsibilities for social issues onto cities like Vancouver.

“We are not going to say that, because of the desperate need of shelter for homeless people, the city will take that on,” Ladner said. “We have to insist that other levels of government come to the table.”

That said, the NPA platform does contain one promise to explore using city funds to build housing. Ladner said he would look at using city parking revenue to fund non-market housing (the city's parking corporation recorded about $15 million in net revenue last year).

Other promises included:

- Instituting a three-year budget process with “tax ceilings.”

- Using density bonuses for new housing projects that provide market rental units within the same projects.

- Increasing the diversity of housing types on the remaining Southeast False Creek lands to provide “more opportunities for modest-income renters and buyers.”

- Planning for laneway housing.

- “Examining the feasibility” of using city land for purpose-built market rental housing. There are currently several city-owned sites earmarked for social housing but sitting empty because of a lack of funds.

Gregor Robertson, Ladner's main opponent for mayor in November's election, said there was nothing new to be found in the NPA plan.

“It's a rehash of the same old tired and failed policies of the Sam Sullivan years,” Robertson told reporters Thursday afternoon.

He also questioned why Ladner's focus now appears to be on crime, after the NPA leader stated his first priority was homelessness in an Oct. 1 debate.

“[The NPA] platform had an opportunity to do something innovative and they failed on that front,” Robertson said.

But the Vision Vancouver mayoral candidate wouldn't give specifics of his own party's platform, which he promises will be released “very soon.”

Irwin Loy reports for Vancouver's 24 Hours.