P.O.W.E.R. DISPATCH #2
Update on our community-based reporting.
We lost a member of P.O.W.E.R. this December.
Rest in power, Stephanie. We miss you.
*Dispatches: P.O.W.E.R. intends to release updates on community-based reporting outside of our academic and single topic newsletters when time and resources permit. Dispatch #1 can be found here.
Dispatch #2: Themes
High Acuity Reports
P.O.W.E.R. has received a number of high acuity reports since drop-in re-opened in September (from an August hiatus). High acuity reports constitute violence that is severe and/or has lasting physical trauma. One notable trend is reported group beatings by Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officers. This is consistent with longstanding community documentation and knowledge that several VPD officers will use physical force against one person, regardless of compliance with officer demands.
P.O.W.E.R. condemns ongoing group beatings by VPD officers. Multiple people reported group beatings as life-altering, and in some cases, life ruining events. These cases are being reported in the wake of seven VPD officers being cleared of blame in the murder of Myles Gray by the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner. One VPD officer who killed Myles Gray, named Nick Thompson, has since worked for the city’s police-healthcare collaboration “Car 87,” and another, Hardeep Sahota, is a school liaison police officer.
Police neglect
Similar to a highlighted theme Dispatch #1, a number of people came to P.O.W.E.R. to report police neglect and/or inaction.
Neglect and inaction include reports of people fearing for their safety, but receiving no response from the officers who they had been directed to when requesting assistance. Despite the VPD budget pulling funding away from other city infrastructure, trends indicate that the public feels they have nowhere to turn for increased safety.
Individuals alleged to be organizing against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza are being targeted by RCMP and VPD officers.
We have heard about increased forms of intimidation and repression toward people in Vancouver alleged to be organizing in solidarity with the Palestinian people and against Israel’s genocide.
P.O.W.E.R, alongside Simon Fraser Public Interest Group, Care Not Cops, and Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy Vancouver, previously released a statement in support of the Rail Blockaders, who continue to face criminal charges.
Newsletter highlights
P.O.W.E.R., CSSDP Vancouver and Care Not Cops, ran a fundraiser alongside Indigenous and Black mothers who have lost their children to police killings in Canada, shortly after joining 10+ groups to endorse a national inquiry into police killings of Indigenous Peoples.
P.O.W.E.R. told the story of Angelo’s struggle for justice after he experienced police violence in multiple provinces. The Surrey Union of Drug Users Research and Policy Committee brought attention to how policing and displacement is defunding basic social infrastructure in Surrey.
P.O.W.E.R. ran a flash fundraiser alongside our friends in Calgary, Alberta with Stop the Stack. Did we mention the (undue) charges against Taylor were withdrawn?! ✊🏽
Community activity
Members Darren, David, Molly and Tyson Singh presented on P.O.W.E.R. at the Care Not Cops convergence on November 23-24, 2024. Other P.O.W.E.R. members ran a table throughout the weekend.
Members of P.O.W.E.R., Risebridge, Palestine Student Encampment at Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo Area Network of Drug Users and Stop the Sweeps held a community forum on an upcoming report about law enforcement practices in Nanaimo, BC (never ceded Snuneymuxw, Snaw-naw-as, and Stzuminus lands).
P.O.W.E.R. members Jenn and Tyson Singh gave a guest lecture in the University of British Columbia’s School of Social Work.
P.O.W.E.R. distributed newsletters throughout the Downtown Eastside with an update about Bill 34, and outlined what “recriminalization” is (the May 7, 2024 amendment to rollback BC’s so-called decriminalization model from virtually all public space).
P.O.W.E.R. in the news
Drug Data Decoded: Police drive violence in the unregulated drug and sex work markets
New research with contributions from P.O.W.E.R. members
International Journal of Drug Policy: Criminalizing public space through a decriminalization framework: The paradox of British Columbia, Canada
INQUIRY – Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision & Financing: Depoliticization of Violence: Critical Limits of Risk Environment Frameworks in Drug Use Research
Drug and Alcohol Review: ‘It just doesn't stop’: Perspectives of women who use drugs on increased overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic