403 search results for
Policing and the criminal justice system
Recommendation 5:
A Provincial Policy on harm reduction which should include:
- a directive to deprioritize simple possession of controlled substances and an overview of the harms of confiscating substances (including alcohol) from people with addictions and limited resources;
- a directive to never confiscate new or used syringes, naloxone, and other harm reduction and overdose prevention supplies;
- a statement that harm reduction supplies, whether new or used, are not a basis for search or investigation; and
- a directive that local police forces work with service providers to develop bubble zones around safe consumption sites, overdose prevention sites, and other harm reduction sites, taking into consideration policing practices that may deter access including visible presence, arrests in close proximity, undercover operations in and near, and surveillance of people using the service.
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Recommendation 7:
A Provincial Policy on confiscation of belongings by police which includes:
- a strong statement that explains to all police forces the harm caused by the confiscation of homeless people’s belongings;
- deprioritize confiscating homeless people’s belongings, especially necessities of life such as shelter, clothing, medication, and important personal items; and
- a directive to issue receipts for belongings and cash where they must be taken, with instructions for how to get them back.
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Recommendation 4:
A Provincial Policy governing police interactions with intoxicated persons, in partnership with people who use drugs and people living with alcoholism, and fund the implementation of the Policy. This Policy should make it clear that:
- police interventions with a person who is intoxicated must be minimally impairing on liberty and officers must make the security of the person (health) the paramount consideration in determining whether to apprehend an individual;
- city cells are not the appropriate place to bring an intoxicated person for their own safety or other therapeutic reasons. Alternatives to detention including, but not limited to, sobering centres, hospitals, and other community-based options must be made available; and
- where an intoxicated person must be brought into cells, their health care needs shall be paramount and health care visits will be mandatory.
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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.
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Recommendation 22:
Develop a baseline of information and understanding of the racism that Indigenous Peoples experience so that individual complainants are not put to a process of proof again and again. Advance research or statements about common areas of discrimination experienced by Indigenous Peoples. This would operate similar to judicial notice of facts that are beyond dispute, as encouraged by the Supreme Court of Canada in cases such as Williams, Gladue, and Ipeelee.
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Recommendation 11:
The BCHRT, working in concert with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, could approach other human rights agencies to institute an Indigenous ombuds office across jurisdictions, per the recommendation of the MMIWG2S Inquiry.
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- Access to justice ,
- Decolonization and Indigenous rights ,
- Health, wellness and services ,
- Human rights system ,
- Indigenous issues in policing and justice ,
- Missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, and LGBTQ2SIA+ people ,
- Policing and the criminal justice system ,
- Poverty and economic inequality ,
- Public services
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Recommendation 2:
We recommend legislation remedy the widespread use of isolation not specifically permitted by law.
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Recommendation 37:
Assess time extension requests with a trauma-informed lens and consider any circumstances Indigenous applicants raise tied to Indigenous traditions or ways of approaching conflict (such as attempts at relationship repair or restoration).
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Recommendation 32:
Track and report upon instances where Indigenous Peoples settle complaints, and interview them after several months about their reasons for settling and their satisfaction with the resolution.
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Recommendation 31:
Include Indigenous dispute resolution models, mediators and peacemakers in BCHRT mediation or settlement discussions. Consider use of co-mediation or joint processes involving Indigenous Peoples.
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