The impacts of police and policing

Recommendation 1: The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General and the Attorney General, working in full partnership with historically marginalized communities and communities with high levels of police interactions, must develop a set of guiding values and principles for policing in British Columbia that are grounded in human rights.

The impacts of police and policing

The Attorney General must take immediate action to increase access to justice for people who believe they have been the victims of excessive force, discrimination, or harassment by police by:

Recommendation 3: Amending the Police Act to expand the mandate of the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) in order to:

1. ensure that all police officers and forces operating in BC fall under the mandate of the OPCC;
2. ensure that civilian investigators and civilian staff members are responsible for the entirety of the complaint resolution process; and
3. allow the OPCC to audit police complaints each year, particularly where they involve discrimination based on race, gender, poverty, or health status, and publicly report on areas of concern for further investigation or reform.

The impacts of police and policing

Recommendation 9: The Director of Police Services must work with the Independent Investigations Office and the Coroners Service to audit deaths and serious injuries in city cells in BC over the past 10 years, including an analysis of race, disability, housing status, and gender, and, make the findings and recommendations for reform publicly available.

The impacts of police and policing

Recommendation 11: The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, in partnership with the MHMA, should issue a directive stating that no public funds may be used for private security patrols on public property, including in public parks.

How court-imposed conditions set people up to fail

The Governments of BC and Canada must amend their prosecutorial policy, specifically:

Recommendation 13: Amend the BC Crown Counsel Policy Manual to include a policy on “Conditions of Release” that:

1. aligns with the Criminal Code requirement that an accused be released unconditionally unless their detention or the imposition of conditions is justified;
2. reflects Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence requiring that conditions of release be minimally onerous and that every imposition of more restrictive conditions must be individually justified; and
3. takes into consideration the potential harms of imposing certain conditions on some individuals based on their social condition, race, ability status, housing status, and substance use.

How court-imposed conditions set people up to fail

The Governments of BC and Canada must amend their prosecutorial policy, specifically:

Recommendation 15: Amend the Public Prosecution Service of Canada Deskbook Part 3.18 sections 2 and 5 to:

1. more clearly reflect the Criminal Code requirement that an accused be released unconditionally unless their detention or the imposition of conditions is justified; and
2. take into consideration the potential harms of imposing certain conditions on certain individuals based on their social condition, race, ability status, housing status, and substance use. ii. take into consideration the potential harms of imposing certain conditions on certain individuals based on their social condition, race, ability status, housing status, and substance use.

Service gaps and barriers & operationalizing stigma-auditing

Recommendation 23: The Province of British Columbia must amend the Human Rights Code, RSBC 1996, c 210 to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on social condition.

Service gaps and barriers

The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction must make immediate changes to BC’s Income Assistance and Disability Assistance programs including:

Recommendation 25: Increasing income assistance rates to the Market Basket Measure and indexing them to inflation.

Service gaps and barriers

The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction must make immediate changes to BC’s Income Assistance and Disability Assistance programs including:

Recommendation 26: Reviewing the processes that are currently in place for reporting “welfare fraud” to provide greater accountability and ensure that people receiving income assistance are not denied survival income without due process.

Service gaps and barriers

The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction must make immediate changes to BC’s Income Assistance and Disability Assistance programs including:

Recommendation 27: Increasing access to in-person services for income assistance and disability applicants.