In 2022, the Stop the Sweeps coalition (Pivot Legal Society, Coalition of Peers Dismantling the Drug War, Defund 604 Network, and Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users) published the “#STOPTHESWEEPS: Ending Cyclical Displacement & Criminalized Poverty in Vancouver,” which addresses the daily practice of City Engineering Workers and Vancouver Police Department officers moving throughout Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside seizing possessions, notionally in order to “clean” City property. The report identifies the street sweeps as a part of the broader criminalization of poverty enforced through an array of anti-homeless bylaws, which are endemic in municipalities across British Columbia. The report demands an end to the enforcement of street and traffic bylaws against people who rely on public space, planned directives relating to confiscation and the provision of storage facilities.
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Demands
Recommendation 2: Defund City Engineering & Police Budgets and redirect funds currently allocated to Street Sweeps, in order to redistribute resources and funds for cleaning to local organizations and individuals who reside in affected areas.-
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Inclusion of directly impacted communities
Recommendation 9: Non-profit and non-governmental workers should not just receive the mandate to conduct Street Sweeps, nor should civilians be “deputized” to do this work. Any alternative to Street Sweeps should be peer-led, specifically led by the community organizers who are currently experiencing Sweeps. These folks live, and survive, the realities of Street Sweeps and are best-situated to discern appropriate and long-term solutions.-
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Conclusion
Recommendation 10: Ending Street Sweeps will require cross-department collaboration between the City of Vancouver, Park Board, and Vancouver Police Department. Each of these institutions must commit to the elimination of Street Sweeps. By eliminating costly and traumatic Street Sweeps, the City could fund peer-led programming, including community clean-ups, street and sidewalk maintenance, vending support, and the management of storage facilities.-
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