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

The Director of Police Services must develop the following Provincial Policies for all policing agencies in British Columbia:

Recommendation 7: A Provincial Policy on confiscation of belongings by police which includes:

1. a strong statement that explains to all police forces the harm caused by the confiscation of homeless people’s belongings;
2. deprioritize confiscating homeless people’s belongings, especially necessities of life such as shelter, clothing, medication, and important personal items; and
3. a directive to issue receipts for belongings and cash where they must be taken, with instructions for how to get them back.

The impacts of police and policing

The Director of Police Services must develop the following Provincial Policies for all policing agencies in British Columbia:

Recommendation 8: A Provincial Policy detailing people’s right to privacy in tents and informal living structures akin to the right to privacy in private residences.

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 10: The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs (MHMA) must make a province-wide commitment to supporting homeless people to maintain their belongings and to ensuring that homeless people have access to services without fear of losing their possessions. The MHMA must partner with local governments in collaboration with groups of people with lived experience, to train local bylaw officers:

• to recognize and respect the belongings of homeless people; and
• to work effectively with people experiencing homelessness to clean up or discard belongings where there is a pressing public safety, access, or environmental need to do so.

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.

How court-imposed conditions set people up to fail

Recommendation 19: Police Services must create a provincial practice direction for police officers upon release of an accused, adopting the following recommendations of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association:

• police should make increased use of their power to release and ensure that any conditions imposed are constitutional and legally permissible under the Criminal Code.
• individuals released from police custody should be proactively informed of the procedures that can be used to vary police-imposed conditions under the Criminal Code; and
• police should release individuals under the most minimally restricting conditions available in the circumstance, taking into consideration an individual’s need to access shelter, social services, health care, and community, as well as the possible disability status of the individual, including addiction.

How court-imposed conditions set people up to fail

Recommendation 20: The Ministry of Justice and/or Court Services Branch must update any Ministry of Justice databases (e.g. JUSTIN) and related practices, policies, and technology platforms, to ensure that the imposition of bail and sentencing conditions can be tracked in correlation with housing status and race, and that breaches of bail or sentencing can be properly recorded and searched based on the type of condition breached.