Advocates say reforms ‘don’t work,’ unimpressed by B.C. policing recommendations

Advocates for marginalized people are skeptical about an all-party committee report calling for changes to how police handle calls dealing with mental health and addictions.

The Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act was appointed to look into systemic racism in policing and how to improve accountability.

In its report, the committee wants to see better coordination and integration of services to address mental health and addictions, as well as provincial standards and policies for conducting wellness checks, responding to reports of sexual assault or people experiencing a mental health crisis, and conducting interviews with a trauma-informed approach.

The recommendations give Garth Mullins with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug users a glimmer of cautious hope.

“When I pick up a report like that, a little part of me is hopeful that finally, someone’s going to say, ‘Yes, let’s do that … Let’s stop criminalizing these groups of people, like drug users, like people without houses, like sex workers. A part of me is hopeful, but it’s a very small part because I’ve read these reports a lot before.”

Mullins’ sentiment is echoed by Kit Rothschild with PACE Society, an organization that provides support and advocacy for sex workers. Rothschild argues the idea of a decolonialized police force is an oxymoron.

“Reforms simply do not work; costly technological solutions such as CCTV and body-worn cameras distract from the reality that policing is grounded in colonialism, racism, classism, and misogyny.”

They say calls to reform police “do nothing to support sex workers, and actually funnel more money towards police, instead of addressing the social inequalities.”

The report also recommended the B.C. government to transition away from contracting the RCMP to handle policing and instead create a provincial service governed by a new “Community Safety and Policing Act.”

The report says Indigenous people and nations should be engaged with the drafting of a Community Safety and Policing Act, which would govern the provision of public safety services, including policing, in B.C., “based on values of decolonization, anti-racism, community, and accountability.”

On Thursday, the president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs supported the special committee’s recommendations, saying a systemic transformation is “long overdue.”

Related article: Ditch RCMP, move to provincial service says all-party committee

As for Mullins, he would like to see fewer resources put into policing.

“I worry that this report is going to… tell police how to look and act nicer. It’s going to create a nicer, more well-appointed jail for drug users and other criminalized people. We’re not asking for a nicer jail. We’re asking for no more of that.”

He argues police escalate situations and “real Police Act reform means legislation that would dismantle the drug war.”