Vancouver Police Board responding to “Access Without Fear” with new policies

The Vancouver Police Board is updating its policies in line with Access Without Fear

Vancouver City Council’s decision to declare an “access without fear policy,” confirming that all city services will be available to all without regard to residency or citizenship status, is winning support from other city-funded agencies.

The Vancouver Public Library’s board adopted the policy last month and tomorrow the Vancouver Police Board will review recommendations from the Vancouver Police Department to make the relevant changes to police policy.

In reality, very few instances of interaction with the Canadian Border Services Agency occur under existing VPD policies, as the report to the board makes clear.

In future, however, both VPD officers and city residents will be much clearer on where they stand and the focus on public safety, not enforcement of immigration status, will be the top priority.