[SWAF-Potluck] Meeting with VPD Chief

[Kerry Porth]

Hi everyone,

As part of my work with Living in Community (www.livingincommunity.ca) I
attended an incredibly productive meeting with the Vancouver Police
Department today.  The Chief of Police, Jim Chu, Deputy Chief Doug LePard
and Diversity Inspector Mario Giardini attended.

We had asked for the meeting in light of concerns expressed by sex workers
about how the new laws will be enforced in Vancouver. We were assured that
the VPD intends to continue to abide by their Sex Work Enforcement
Guidelines and that this document has the support of the Police Board and
the City of Vancouver.

Regarding specific concerns about whether the VPD will be enforcing against
clients of indoor independent workers and massage parlours, they explained
that, as per the guidelines, sex work between consenting adults will NOT be
an enforcement priority. The only exception to this is where they believe
that trafficking is an issue or there may be the presence of underage sex
workers or where there is evidence to suggest that a serial predator is
targeting indoor workers.  In other words, you can assure your clients that
the VPD will not be setting up fake escort or massage ads in an effort to
arrest clients for purchasing sex.

They will be adding a "Frequently Asked Questions" section to the Sex Work
Enforcement Guidelines on the VPD website and, if you have any specific
questions, please forward them to me so that they can be sent to the VPD
and included in the FAQ.

They will also produce a Youtube video explaining their policy in plain
language. This is an important step as it is a commitment to their own
guidelines that we can hold them accountable to if individual officers
using their "discretion" behave in a way that isn't in keeping with their
commitment.

They have also committed to speaking with police chiefs in other lower
mainland municipalities to try to promote the safety of sex workers.

In solidarity,

Kerry
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