[SWAF-Potluck] Meeting with VPD Chief

[James Smith]

Amazing Kerry.  Thank you so much for all the good work you do!!

James


On 2014-12-01, at 3:01 PM, Kerry Porth wrote:

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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