***Mar 2006 Focus pg 1-32 - Focus Magazine

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Grassroots cop watchtalk of the townSIMON NATTRASSHeavy-handed policing of homeless and poor people is the focus of a new affadavit campaign.Marianne was visiting a friend the firsttime it happened. Like a scene froma TV crime drama, officers with theVictoria Police Department entered the homeand, after a brief search, began accusing herof using illegal drugs based on her proximityto paraphernalia belonging to the house’s occupant.Marianne told the officers that shehad stopped using. Finding no evidence tosupport their assumption, police left withoutpursuing charges.So it came as a surprise when Marianne’semployer called the next day to ask about theincident. Officers had contacted her boss withdetails of the previous day’s events, violatingboth her privacy and the Police Act. Followinganother similar incident—again resolvedwithout charges but followed by a second interactionbetween officers and Marianne’semployer—a phone call from her boss informedher that she had been fired.This is just one of a growing number ofstories being collected from members of thestreet community by the Vancouver IslandPublic Interest Research Group (VIPIRG)under the organization’s affidavit program.The program is part of the organization’scurrent campaign known as the “CommunityAction Plan (CAP) on Discrimination,” andhas outreach workers collecting sworn statementsdetailing instances of profiling anddiscrimination by the Victoria Police.The CAP on Discrimination mirrors thework of Vancouver’s Pivot Legal Society, whichin 2002 collected 50 affidavits in a similarprogram targetting the Vancouver PoliceDepartment. The resulting report To Serveand Protect detailed the aggressive and illegalstyle of policing that had become routine inthe Downtown East Side under the commandof then VPD Chief Jamie Graham. Statementsfrom both homeless and housed people revealedthe VPD’s use of excessive force, enforcementof illegal no-go zones, unlawful and demoralizingstrip searches, and mistreatment ofprisoners and detainees matching the UnitedNations definition of torture.“The reason we have the police force thatwe have now in Vancouver is because therewas an organized effort on behalf of and inpartnership with marginalized communities,”remembers civil liberties critic David Eby. AfterVictoria Police Chief Jamie Grahamreleasing To Serve and Protect, Pivot and otherorganizations called on the VPD, City ofVancouver, and the province to conduct aninquiry into systemic abuse of authority andto implement improvements to monitoringand complaints processes. The resulting controversyprompted the Vancouver Police to issuea public apology and implement drastic changesto policing in the Downtown East Side.According to Eby, whether officers see themselvesas serving and protecting marginalizedcitizens or as standing between criminals andhonest citizens depends on the orders fromabove. “Those two perspectives are very alivein policing…the question about how that actuallygoes down is generally the role of the chiefand the deputy chiefs. They set the tone forthe rest of the force.” Pivot’s work in 2002was a response to the aggressive style of enforcementthat filtered down from the office ofChief Jamie Graham. A decade later, and withGraham in command of the Victoria Police,it should come as no surprise that VIPIRG isreacting to the same type of complaints fromstreet-involved people.While the complaints levelled against theVictoria Police fall short of the extreme abusesexhibited in Vancouver, the affidavits collectedby VIPIRG staff, along with the organization’s2012 report Out of Sight: Policing Povertyin Victoria, reveal a similar trend in localpolicing. A majority of respondents to theOut of Sight survey said they witnessedofficers using excessive force, and nearly halfhad been on the receiving end of that force.Most also claimed to have experienced harassment,illegal stop-and-searches, or unreasonableconfiscation of property like family photosand safer drug use supplies.PHOTO: PETE ROCKWELLThe recent affidavits indicate that theseincidents have remained just as much a problemfor Victoria’s homeless over the past year.One man detailed a series of encounters witha particular officer. After losing his job andbecoming homeless for the first time in hislife at the age of 45, Barry somehow provokedthe ire of an officer of the Victoria Police.Over the coming months, that same officerfollowed Barry around town, issuing around40 citations for petty infractions like sittingon a set of stairs or resting his backpack onthe sidewalk. Homeless due to a brief periodof poverty, Barry is now saddled with hundredsof dollars in fines.“We need to learn from mistakes inVancouver,” says VIPIRG board member MarkWillson. “Victoria can protect the safety of allmembers of the community by taking all indicationsof abuse seriously, recognizing thatexisting complaints processes can be inadequate,and taking clear steps to prevent injusticestowards underprivileged groups.” While someof the City’s current commitments (like becominga signatory to the Canadian Coalition ofMunicipalities Against Racism andDiscrimination) provide a framework fordealing with certain kinds of profiling, Willsonsays it’s not as clear when it comes down tostreet-involved populations who are discriminatedagainst based on their way of life, ratherthan on skin colour or cultural background.On March 28, VIPIRG will ask VictoriaCity Council first to endorse a statement ofprincipals condemning discriminatory practicesand then to adopt a series of commitmentsaimed at improving monitoring and accountability.The organization’s demands centrearound the creation of a committee composedof service providers, City representatives, andmembers of the street community which wouldoversee the implementation of a half-dozenrecommendations contained within the CAPon Discrimination.For months, VIPIRG has been drummingup support by sending representatives of thestreet community and supporting organizationsto council meetings, explaining over andover the value of the CAP on Discrimination.Further tipping the scales in favour of approvalat the March 28 meeting, the organizationinvolved two sitting councillors—Lisa Helps20 April 2013 • FOCUS
<strong>Focus</strong> presents: Canadian Diabetes AssociationADVERTISEMENTWHILE THE COMPLAINTS levelledagainst the Victoria Police fall short ofthe extreme abuses exhibited in Vancouver,the affidavits collected by VIPIRGstaff...reveal a similar trend in local policing.Foot care: a step toward good healthand Marianne Alto—in drafting its recommendations.For her part, Helps says thediversity of organizations involved in the projectcould win favour from Council. It is this diversityof voices, says Helps, which is “reallyimportant both in terms of receiving CityCouncil support as well as giving life to theactions that will come out of the document.”The organization’s recommendations focuson strengthening non-discriminatory policiesamongst various government bodies andensuring the behaviours of police and serviceproviders are more closely monitored. “We’reseeing this as a first step,” says Willson. “We’reasking the City to recognize social profilingalongside racial profiling as things that needto be addressed and then we can look at whatare the next steps.”While the next steps for VIPIRG and itspartner organizations may not be set in stone,the history of Vancouver’s response to theVPD’s harassment provides a few hints. Theunification of the Downtown Eastside neighbourhoodprompted the development ofthe Pivot Legal Society and strengthened organizationslike the Downtown Eastside ResidentsAssociation and Vancouver Area Network ofDrug Users. Today these organizations forma sort of grassroots cop watch, springing outof the same community-based response topolice harassment that VIPIRG is leading now.Vancouver moved on from Jamie Graham’sapproach to policing in large part thanks tothe grassroots activism of Downtown Eastsideresidents and NGOs. Graham’s contractexpires at the end of this year, and neither theChief nor the City have publicized any planto renew, so Victoria may soon be one stepcloser to revitalizing its police force. Regardlessof whether the City supports the CAP onDiscrimination, by rallying the communityaround this issue, VIPIRG and its partnersare laying the groundwork for a more accountablepolice force in 2014.Simon Nattrass is a politicalcolumnist and writer specializingin radical politics.Anyone who has ever suffered from a sore orbroken foot will tell you that healthy feetare crucial to our ability to move and therebymaintain our health as we age. Yet three out of fourpeople develop foot problems as they age.Staying fit means maintaining both muscle andbone strength and emotional and mental health. Italso means not falling—a major cause of disability inseniors. But if your feet are in poor shape, it’s very hardto move comfortably, so you don’t get enough exercise,and of course, your risk of falling increases. Healthyfeet are definitely a foundation of overall health.Good foot care is essential for all people, but especiallyso for those with diabetes. Diabetes affects thecirculation and immune system, which in turn impairsthe body’s ability to heal itself. Over time, diabetes candamage sensory nerves (this is known as “neuropathy”),especially in the hands and feet. As a result, peoplewith diabetes are less likely to feel a foot injury, suchas a blister or cut. Unnoticed and untreated, even smallfoot injuries can quickly become infected, potentiallyleading to serious complications.The good news is that even those with diabetes canprevent most of these problems. From foot self-examsto doctor checkups, there are many things you can doto keep your feet in good shape, improve circulation,and catch a problem before it becomes severe, avoidingcomplications and amputation, a sad reality for somewith diabetes. Dr. Todd Yip, head of the Foot & LegUlcer Clinic at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, says, “Thevast majority of foot wounds are preventable aslong as people with diabetes are equipped with theknowledge to take the appropriate steps.”On Saturday, May 11, the Canadian DiabetesAssociation will host Foot Care: A Step Toward GoodHealth. Dr. Yip and his foot-care team will walk youthrough the ins and outs of foot care. Says Dr. Yip: “Inmy opinion, healthcare is a shared responsibility.Patients, with the assistance of those involved withtheir healthcare, such as the team that works with meand my patients, are able to achieve a great deal bypulling together.”Dr. Yip will take a model case of a patient with asmall foot ulcer and walk the audience through theassessment and management, from healing to preventingrecurrent ulcers. The case will be used as the seguefor other foot-care specialists to speak to the audiencefrom their perspective.Come and hear what steps you can take and howyour foot-care team can support you. Topics will include:neuropathy, dressings and wound care, footwear,orthotics, foot care best practices, services available,medical coverage and benefit plans, advocacy andgetting involved.Speakers at the event include Dr. Yip; diabetes nurseeducator Beena Kashyap; foot-care nurse Lisa Macdonell;podiatrist Dr. Hiedi Postowski; orthotists James Tarrantand Tim Witoski; and pedorthist Nevin Pettyjohn.The Canadian Diabetes AssociationpresentsFoot Care: A Step Toward Good HealthSaturday May 11, 2013Registration & Expo: 7:30 am to 8:30 amProgram: 8:30 am to 12:30 pmBob Wright Centre, Earth & Ocean SciencesBuilding, University of Victoria(http://goo.gl/maps/2TMlQ)Parking: $2.25 all dayPre-registration and payment required$10 includes refreshmentsPhone: 250-382-5454 ext. 221Email: Victoria.reception@diabetes.caFor more information and to register online:www.diabetes.ca/victoriafootcarewww.focusonline.ca • April 201<strong>32</strong>1
Page 1: FOCUSVictoria’s monthly magazine
Page 4: Leading edge dentistryDown to Earth
Page 8 and 9: at a glanceTrend to “oral governm
Page 10 and 11: talkof thetownGerry Bliss & Brad De
Page 12 and 13: City costs have been identified tha
Page 14: Officially ridiculousGERRY BLISS AN
Page 19: How to gain an extra hour a day —
Page 23 and 24: Focus presents: Triangle HealingADV
Page 25 and 26: FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, indigenous
Page 27 and 28: April 13VISA OPEN HOUSE andTALES FR
Page 29 and 30: “Cobble Cottage” Deryk Houston,
Page 31 and 32: Focus presents: Kate Cino and Art O
Page 33 and 34: “Battle Scars” Morley Myers, 14
Page 35 and 36: eadings & presentationsApril 15PEN-
Page 37 and 38: “WE ALMOST WENT INSTRUMENTAL on t
Page 39 and 40: seemingly unencumbered by narrative
Page 41 and 42: in their backyard that is state-led
Page 43 and 44: Focus presents: Victoria HospiceADV
Page 45 and 46: and energies. Finally: the City doe
Page 47 and 48: MYTH: these guys cause wartsFACT: y

***Mar 2006 Focus pg 1-32 - Focus Magazine

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?