THE NATURE OF POLICE WORK

If there were any doubts about the effects of chronic marijuana use,
Marc Emery's full-page advertisement on May 2 and his remarks in the
article "Pot advocate aims for mayor's chair" are certainly of
assistance. His assertions are offensive to police officers, the vast
majority of whom are dedicated to serving the community.

His advertisement and subsequent comments seem to be about the
Vancouver police department. Yet he cites the Daniel Possee case as
an example of police wrongdoing. The VPD had absolutely no
involvement in this tragedy, which occurred in another jurisdiction.

Mr. Emery decries the VPD's marijuana enforcement efforts. The
reality is that the chances of being arrested in Vancouver for simple
possession are probably just slightly greater than being struck by
lightning. However, we make no apologies for taking strong
enforcement action against those who run large marijuana grow
operations, because of the inevitable violence and distress they
bring to neighbourhoods.

Mr. Emery claims that the B.C. Civil Liberties Association
recommended that police officers not be investigated by other police
officers. In fact, in its submission to the Oppal Commission, the
BCCLA clearly stated that police officers were best qualified to
conduct investigations and ought to continue doing this, but that
civilian oversight was required. The police community supported this
recommendation.

Mr. Emery is also quoted as saying, if elected mayor, he will fire
the entire VPD and hire the best officers from around the world. We
already have world-class police officers, but, if Mr. Emery has some
strategies for attracting more, our recruiting section would like to
hear them. Despite an overwhelming number of applications, we have
difficulty hiring the 60 to 90 excellent candidates we need yearly
simply to meet attrition. Finding more than 1,100 at once seems quite
ambitious.

Vancouver police officers have made mistakes. And despite the best
intentions, training and resources, mistakes, unfortunately, will
occur in the future. It is the nature of our difficult work. But of
the millions of interactions police officers have with citizens every
year, only an infinitesimal fraction result in a complaint.
Independent surveys clearly show the majority of the public holds our
members in high regard.

Inspector Chris Beach

President, Vancouver Police Officers' Association