Homeless, drug users say they're being unfairly targeted by Vancouver police

By RICHARD J. DALTON JR.,
VANCOUVER SUN
June 17, 2009

VANCOUVER -- Homeless people, drug users and their advocates pushed the Vancouver Police Board on Wednesday to void tickets for jaywalking and other minor offences in the Downtown Eastside, saying the police had unfairly targeted the neighbourhood in a crackdown on disorderly conduct.

Advocates from the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, the Pivot Legal Society and the Portland Hotel Society told the police board east-side residents can’t afford to pay the tickets and can’t navigate the city’s bureaucracy if they wanted to pay the fines.

“The community has been caused tremendous stress and grief,” said Laura Track, lawyer for the Pivot Legal Society, a non-profit legal advocacy organization.

The crackdown peaked in December with more than 1,000 tickets issued, Track said.

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