The recent announcement that the Victoria Police Board is initiating a search for a new police chief presents an opportunity to significantly improve public health and public safety.
Strategies to reduce the harms associated with substance use are core components of provincial and municipal substance-use policies, as well as those of the Vancouver Island Health Authority.
These strategies — which can include needle-exchange services, supervised consumption facilities and overdose-prevention protocols — are well-known means to enhance health and safety, both for people who use illicit drugs and the general population.
Harm-reduction policies and practices reduce suffering and save lives and money. However, the benefits of these harm-reduction services will not be realized if limited or interfered with by the day-to-day practices of police.
We know that much of the work that occupies our local police is “first response” in nature, due to the lack of appropriate housing, health care and income supports. Police are often at the table when it comes to addressing gaps in services and supports.
At a recent national forum in Vancouver on adding supervised consumption services to the continuum of health care services, Insp. Scott Thompson from the Vancouver Police Department advocated that police be included in community discussions related to issues such as increasing health services for people who use illicit drugs.
He also advocated that, as experts in public safety not public health, police should not interfere in public-health strategies to address health issues such as drug use.
Today has been designated as an international day of action by the Support, Don’t Punish campaign.
SDP aims to raise awareness of the harms being caused by the criminalization of people who use drugs, which is fuelling the HIV epidemic. The campaign aims to change laws and policies which impede access to harm-reduction interventions, and to promote respect for the human rights of people who use drugs.
In support of this campaign, we respectfully urge the Victoria Police Board to ensure that the selection and hiring criteria for the next chief of police include:
• strong knowledge and support of provincial and regional harm reduction strategies and policies;
• a commitment by candidates to support regional harm-reduction approaches to substance use within short-and long-term planning and day-to-day operations.
Additionally, we request that the board inform the public how these key public-health and safety priorities will be addressed and included in their hiring criteria for the next chief of police.
Philippe Lucas is a PhD student in the University of Victoria’s Social Dimensions of Health program. Heather Hobbs is co-ordinator of harm reduction and outreach services, AIDS Vancouver Island. Katie Lacroix is vice-chairwoman and community leader for the Society of Living Illicit Drug Users.
