Request for Vancouver residents to call 911 on beggars was a 'mistake': police

A west-side Vancouver neighbourhood association is asking residents to call 911 when they see panhandlers on the street — an action it says was recommended by police.

"The Vancouver Police Department instructed Dunbar community patrollers to call 911 when they see beggars on Dunbar Street, and I would urge you to do so," Linda MacAdam, chair of the community patrol, says in the email, which was obtained by CBC News on Thursday.

"This falls under street disorder, which the VPD is trying to quell," MacAdam says in the email, which makes reference to Sgt. Randy Regush of the VPD.

MacAdam posted the advice through an online community bulletin board, in response to another contributor's unmoderated posting about panhandlers in the neighbourhood. That posting said that giving beggars money "will encourage them to return, and they'll multiply like cockroaches. " 

George Pinch, co-president of the Dunbar Residents Association and part of the neighbourhood patrol, said it is important for residents to be vigilant.

Panhandlers "are not residents here and they aren't contributing to the neighbourhood," said Pinch, who has lived in the neighbourhood, known for its quaint stores and lazy streets, for 43 years.

"And the police just said it was a good idea to keep them moving."

The Pivot Legal Society, a non-profit legal advocacy organization based in downtown Vancouver, criticized the VPD on Thursday for "criminalizing poverty and restricting poor people's lawful access to public space."

"My goodness, what are the VPD doing here? We already know that they have one of the longest wait times in North America for response to 911 calls. Why would they be advocating for people to call 911 in a non-emergency just because they see a poor person on the street?" said Laura Track, Pivot's housing-campaign lawyer.

'This is a mistake,' VPD says

The Vancouver Police Department issued a statement Thursday after several calls from CBC News.

The statement by Const. Anne Longley says a mistake was made, and Dunbar residents should not dial 911 when they come across panhandlers on the street.

"This is a mistake. This is not the position of the Vancouver Police Department and never has been," Longley said in the statement.

"We agree with Pivot that this would be a waste of police resources and that we should be concentrating those resources on issues of public safety."

Longley said the VPD does not object to panhandling but encourages citizens to report aggressive panhandlers.

"[We] take issue with any illegal behaviour by panhandlers or anyone else. Action is only taken against anyone panhandling when they are violating the Safe Streets or Trespass Acts or the city bylaw in relation to aggressive panhandling, obstructing, failing to leave private property or any other prohibited act," Longley said.

Some Dunbar residents said Thursday that there aren't many homeless people in the area in the first place.