Defund the Vancouver Police Department (VPD)
Defining a new way forward for policing - it is time
Policy Goal
Eliminate over-policing and the harm caused by police, who are largely tasked with being the first line of defense between property owners and oppressed peoples. Reduce funding to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) by 50% initially, redirecting funds and new revenue to a mix of public housing, Indigenous and community-led non-violent mental health and addiction services; and other supports that address mental illness, young adults aging out of care, addiction, poverty and other causes of crime, and strive to eliminate harm from the poisoned drug supply. Defunding the VPD will take time and VOTE Socialist is committed to researching and finding strategies to make this happen by identifying the city services people think are working well, and envisioning how these services could be improved by defunding various police activities and reallocating those funds.
Pathways to Change
Review existing city procedures, programs, and relationships with the police to eliminate police involvement where the city has control;
Create a complaints policy and process independent of police control for victims of police violence to submit complaints, and implement independent civilian oversight for all investigations of police wrongdoing, with no connections or conflicts of interest to police forces, unions, or lobbying organizations.
Work with the Ministry of Public Safety and the Solicitor General to amend the Police Act to allow the City autonomy and independent oversight over policing policy, without provincial interference, and make the police board electable and accountable to the public;
Work with the province to end seizures of personal property under the Civil Forfeiture Act, which is open to abuse when personal property is seized under suspicion, rather than conviction, of being stolen or proceeds of crime;
Disarm and demilitarize the VPD, and provide community-led civilian training in anti-harassment, anti-racism, Indigenous cultural practices, de-escalation, stress and trauma management, restorative justice, and fostering safe and inclusive workplaces;
Audit VPD recruitment and training practices to assess the use of violent vs. nonviolent policing practices, the acceptance of rape myths and implicit race and gender biases, and other practices and attitudes that are incompatible with public safety;
Stop the Sweeps - end violence, intimidation, and theft of belongings by city workers and police and decampments (sweeps) against unhoused people, liaising with allies such as Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), Drug Users Liberation Front (DULF), and Coalition of Peers Dismantling the Drug War (CPDDW);
Defund Transit Police, freeing up $44M and eliminating fare checks that disproportionately target BIPOC and 2SLGBTQIA+ riders, and reallocate this to operating funding for public transit and non-police presence on the transit system to assist riders.
Adopt municipal priorities outlined by Defund 604 Network; establish Vancouver as a Sanctuary City;
Eliminate bylaws that criminalize homelessness, such as prohibiting overnight parking/camping, through cooperation between the city and the Parks Board;
De-task police by redirecting the defunded portion of the police budget to public non-market housing and peer-led support networks, such as Indigenous and community-led health programs and alternative public health outreach, including non-violent mental health and wellness supports and wellness checks; remove these support, health outreach and wellness check tasks from police control and ensure that redirected funds are not controlled by police or policing budgets;
Create a separate, non-violent, city-controlled crisis centre and crisis response team;
Establish a traditional healing centre at CRAB Park in collaboration with the Parks Board;
Embrace principles of restorative justice where possible when addressing crime to encourage accountability, healing, and reparation;
Provide secure, long-term, low barrier, accessible storage facilities for personal belongings for unhoused people;
Establish the city as a Sanctuary City where undocumented immigrants are protected from deportation or prosecution, despite federal immigration law;
Establish an accessible safe drug supply to address the poisoned drug crisis and decriminalize drug use;
Prohibit arrests for possession of small personal amounts of drugs, with goals to eliminate barriers to safe supply and eliminate overdose deaths;
Refuse to enforce grey market legislation surrounding dispensaries for therapeutic and recreational substances such as mushrooms, psilocybin, and cannabis, and advocate for decriminalization.
Resources
Note: The resources on each of our policy pages are a starting point for learning about various issues and organizations doing work in these areas. This is not a comprehensive list and VOTE Socialist is not affiliated with the organizations listed here. We hope that these resources will help you reflect on and consider community engagement with the pathways to change suggested. We organize and lead with courage not fear, with transformative vision not limits. Vote on October 15!
Learn more about Defund 604
https://www.facebook.com/defund604network/
Defund604 Link tree: https://linktr.ee/DefundNetwork
Learn more about the Pivot Legal Society and their position on defunding the VPD:
Pivot Legal Society
Read Chuka Ejeckam: Defunding the VPD is an investment in public safety and collective well-being: Defunding the VPD is an investment in public safety and collective well-being - Pivot Legal Society
Check out the Aboriginal Friendship Center:
Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society
Check out the Aboriginal Front Door Society:
Aboriginal Front Door Society
Check out the Carnegie Community Center:
Carnegie Community Centre | City of Vancouver
Learn more about a coalition of peers who want to dismantle the drug war:
Cpddw
Think about:
Prison Justice
Let’s join with others to:
StopTheSweeps
Watch the Vancouver Aboriginal Community Policing Centre video with Chris Livingstone: https://vimeo.com/553554164/168a8a348e
Follow:
Mobile Access Project(MAP Van) - WISH Drop-In Centre Society
From the US and what this might mean for us: Stop LA Police Department Spying
Restorative Justice Background
Council Member Motion:
Working Collaboratively to Become a Restorative City
What is Restorative Justice
Restorative justice refers to “an approach to justice that seeks to repair harm by providing an opportunity for those harmed and those who take responsibility for the harm to communicate about and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime.”