Questions Surround Vancouver's Cold Weather Homeless Arrests

In Vancouver, B.C., an individual's right to sleep on the streets is directly correlated with the rise and fall of a thermometer's mercury. The permits local police to forcibly remove homeless individuals from the streets when temperatures become dangerously cold. Yet with temperatures already dipping below zero -- and the potential enforcement of this law imminent -- there remain far too many unanswered questions about how the law will be enforced.

Vancouver officials have not declared an emergency weather alert just yet, but given the dropping temperatures, it probably won't be long. Last night, the temperature in Vancouver dropped to minus two degrees; next week, reports the Hook, the weather will be even colder. The new law, called the Assistance to Shelter Act, grants police the authority to apprehend individuals sleeping outside during an "emergency weather alert." According to the Hook, this includes the following life-threatening weather conditions:

• Temperatures near zero with rainfall that makes it difficult or impossible for homeless people to remain dry
• Sleet/freezing rain
• Snow accumulation
• Sustained high winds
• Temperatures at or below minus two degrees Celsius

Officials say the law was crafted in response to several cold weather homeless deaths last year, particularly among mentally ill individuals. Activists - this one included - suspect that the law is a means of ridding the streets of homeless individuals while the city hosts the 2010 Winter Olympics.

That said, it's hard to argue with any law designed to save lives during extreme weather. But the policies that will dictate how police implement the law are absolutely critical. Will police utilize a heavy-handed approach to forcibly removing individuals? Such as herding people into vans and tossing them into shelters. Or will police serve as street outreach teams who disseminate shelter information, address important barriers or resistance to shelter, and allow individuals to choose their accommodations for the night?

The Vancouver Police have been mum about the impending implementation of the new law. But one statement from police department spokesperson leaves me hopeful. "During cold weather spells, our officers... will be making contact with homeless people during the course of their duties and offering them shelter information," she told the Hook. "In many cases, we find that once people find out more about available shelter options they willingly take advantage of the opportunity to warm up and get a hot meal."

As long as the Vancouver Police Department know advocates around the globe are watching this situation, perhaps they'll be a little more careful in how they go about their important duties. We'll be watching them.

Image: Daquella Manera