Pubdate: Thu, 12 May 2005
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Province
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Mark Tonner
Note: Sgt. Mark Tonner is a Vancouver police officer. His opinions aren't 
necessarily those of the city's police department or board.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

SHOULD POLICE TURN A BLIND EYE TO BINNERS OR HELP CLEAN UP THE HOOD?

I'm trying to decide whether I'm a servant of capitalism or a champion of 
neighbourhoods.

This week someone called police to complain that a pair of street people 
were spoiling his morning view.

They were sleeping under the Burrard Bridge, visible from any number of 
condominium windows, lying amid a collection of garbage.

No law was being broken. It's not illegal to sleep in public, and the men 
weren't littering.

Every piece of refuse was claimed as a personal belonging. The two agreed 
to clean up and begin their day elsewhere.

That meant they'd be wading through rubbish in downtown dumpsters, 
searching for anything of value.

The back-alley lifestyle, or "binning," brings another aggravation.

On Bute Street at Davie, on sidewalks outside a liquor store, dumpster 
divers display what they find.

The result is a type of flea market, with sales made to pedestrians weaving 
through mounds of trash.

Locals call in to complain, demanding police clean things up.

Yet when we show up, other locals take issue, stepping past us to make 
purchases, often muttering about police harassment of the poor.

We're on solid enough legal footing. Shopping carts used for transport are 
all stolen. None of the sidewalk folk have vending permits. They can be 
charged under a city bylaw and, in the face of repetitive behaviour, 
jailing becomes an option.

I've never seen the jailing option used. Buying a licence would mean doing 
without some five or six crack cocaine purchases. That kind of planning is 
beyond unlikely in the life of an addict, and these guys are almost all 
addicted.

Typically, I find myself chatting, offering food and warmth at local 
shelters. I've never had a binner accept the offer, but I've listened to 
street philosophy profound enough to leave me wordless.

The dumpster-to-sidewalk routine isn't so bad, they insist. Sales fund drug 
habits and relieve the necessity for crime.

The last fellow I spoke with burst into laughter at suggestions he stop 
smoking crack, insisting he'd be breaking into cars and homes if it weren't 
for binning.

When time allows, we roll in with city trucks to remove garbage and 
shopping carts.

We mount projects to arrest drug dealers. Even so, this piece of Vancouver 
is a mess.

Police are expected to be loyal to area concerns, to work to keep 
neighbourhoods from crumbling.

Yet it's clear the West End community is split on the issue.

I'll admit I'm torn as well.

Should police land on this? Make things impossible for dumpster-diving vendors?

Should we turn a compassionate blind eye?

Please, find a moment to share opinion at the address below.

I'll share results with people in uniform and on the street.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman