Pubdate: Thu, 29 Mar 2001
Source: Georgia Straight, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 The Georgia Straight
Contact:  http://www2.mybc.com/aroundtown/straight/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1084
Author: Charlie Smith

POLICE BOARD REQUESTED TO REVIEW ODD SQUAD

The board of a Downtown Eastside drop-in centre for female sex-trade 
workers has  written to the Vancouver police board, listing several 
concerns about the way the Odd Squad films documentaries. The Odd Squad is 
comprised of Vancouver police officers who shot footage for the real-life 
drug-education video, Through a Blue Lens.

In the February 6 letter, which the Straight recently obtained, the 
then-acting chair of the WISH Drop-In Centre, Barbara McWilliams, claimed 
that several of the women who come to the centre "have expressed to staff 
and to Board members serious concerns about what many see as forced 
participation in Odd Squad filming and other initiatives".

"It is not clear whether Odd Squad members film while doing VPD shifts but 
they certainly approach potential subjects while in uniform and with the 
implied power of the Police  Department behind them," McWilliams wrote in 
the letter. "Virtually all drug users and sex trade workers are 
participants in illegal activities. Even when no such trade off is  implied 
or stated, subjects can feel coerced into agreeing to appear on film if 
they fear the alternative is possible arrest....Under such an unequal power 
balance, informed consent becomes a virtual impossibility."

The letter asked the board to "clarify the position of the Vancouver Police 
Department on the activities of the Odd Squad". Judy McGuire became chair 
of the centre's board of directors on March 27. She told the Straight that 
she had no comment, and that the letter speaks for itself. "We had no 
intention to release it," she said.

An Odd Squad member, Vancouver police Const. Toby Hinton, told the Straight 
that nobody from the centre called the filmmakers for their side of the 
story. McGuire said that the issue involves police-department policies, and 
that is why the concern was brought to the police board. The police board 
has not replied to any of the concerns.

Hinton faxed several letters of support for the Odd Squad to the Straight, 
including one from Darlene Rowley, who appeared as a subject in Through a 
Blue Lens. In a letter to the chair of  the police board, Vancouver Mayor 
Philip  Owen, Rowley wrote: "When I was asked to be in this film I was not 
threatened or coerced. I had just overdosed on cocaine and had been running 
through the streets of the downtown eastside. If it weren't for Al 
Arseneault and Toby Hinton, I wouldn't be alive today. They saved my life 
that night."

Hinton also faxed letters of support from  relatives of others in the 
documentary. He said that the "power-differential complaint"  has no 
validity. "We spend a good deal of personal time dealing with these 
individuals that have been profiled in our documentary," he said. "We're 
committed to trying to provide support and help to them in their future 
endeavours as well."

Hinton said that in the early days, the members would film while on duty, 
but that no longer occurs. "I do get frustrated when we  have to justify 
good work," he said, claiming  that the video has forged a connection with 
thousands of people around the world. "It's a  simple question: do you 
support reality-based drug education for youth? If you do, I don't  think 
it gets any better."

McWilliams's letter noted that Odd Squad  members are now in the process of 
recruiting  Native youths between 13 and 17 for a new film. "The 
involvement of police personnel with youth under such circumstances raises 
a  number of child protection issues, not the least of which is whether 
such youth are capable of giving legally informed consent to appear in such 
a film," she wrote. Hinton described the concerns about filming 
Native  youths as "a pile of crap". He said no filming is occurring right 
now, and a trailer won't be done until after all the research is completed. 
In addition, he said, the Odd Squad is working collaboratively with the 
Vancouver Police and Native Liaison Society, and has sent a survey to 160 
different Native  organizations.

"We're only looking for input on what issues are important to youth," 
Hinton said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth