Prince George safe streets bylaw slammed in studies investigating its effect on homeless

The B.C. Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN) has released two studies, criticizing the enforcement of a safe streets bylaw passed by the city of Prince George last summer.

"As we have expressed from the onset, this bylaw is counterproductive, cruel, and inherently racist," stated BCAFN Regional Chief Terry Teegee.

"The reports confirm that the Bylaw is endangering the lives of de-housed and precariously housed individuals rather than making Prince George safer for all residents, as the City pledged last summer. Punitive, short-sighted policies like the Safe Streets Bylaw simply exacerbate the situation and prolong the crises."

Prince George city council passed the bylaw following public nuisance complaints in the downtown core and in neighbourhoods near the so-called Moccasin Flats tent camp.  At the time, the city stated officers would enforce the bylaw though education and intervention, rather than punishment and fines.

One study,  authored by Prof. Joe Hermer, chair of the department of sociology at the University of Toronto, analyzed the first 99 days of the bylaw's enforcement, based on records of 427 events identified by city staff and released to researchers under a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy request.

Most incidents, 257, were initiated by a public complaint while 170 resulted from bylaw patrols. Officers took enforcement action in 42.6 per cent of the public complaints but in only 6.1 per cent of the patrol responses.

No fines were filed in the 99 day period.  RCMP were called 19 times, but made no arrests.

"Not issuing tickets is not a humanitarian gesture," said Hermer at a Prince George news conference. "In fact, it is a way to make this kind of informal bylaw invisible and unaccountable. There is no due process."

Most enforcement, 39 per cent of all outcomes, consisted of officers forcing suspected offenders to move locations, with or without their belongings.    

Hermer reports enforcement provided little education or assistance to at-risk people they encountered, even when people appeared to be in distress. The city data recorded only three occasions where an outreach worker was called to assist with a response.

Hermer argued the bylaw indiscriminately targeted homeless and at-risk populations. Enforcement, in effect,  "systematically focused on 'moving on' unhoused people [to remove them] from public view, as well as the dismantling of their shelters,' he wrote.   

The city data did not provide breakdowns of age, gender, ethnicity or cultural identity of those targeted by bylaw enforcement.

In previous surveys, more than 70 per cent of the Prince George homeless population identified as Indigenous.

In a second study, authored by the BCAFN, six researchers conducted 13 semi-structured interviews of at-risk people, to gauge the personal impact of enforcement.

The interviewees, described what they called "inhumane and unsafe harassment tactics" to drive them out of neighbourhoods.

Three respondents reported bylaw officers taking away heaters or tarps during a cold snap. Others complained bylaw officers were disposing of needles and breaking up groups, making it harder to consume drugs safely, with someone able to spot overdoses. One woman reported being sexually harassed by a bylaw officer.

Not a single respondent stated that the bylaw made them feel safer, while 40 per cent said they felt less safe.

BCAFN Regional Chief Terry Teegee called on Prince George city council to rescind the bylaw and redistribute part of the bylaw enforcement budget to housing and social services as part of a five point plan.

A spokesperson with the City of Prince George says staff have just received the BCAFN reports and will need time and internal discussions before releasing a formal response.