“As B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, I feel it is important to speak out about how this continually unfolding tragedy is a violation of human rights and the result of systemic discrimination.” bchumanrights.ca/resources/pu...

"After receiving intel from CRU about the UBC encampment, ... Saanich Police Deputy Robert Warren pre-emptively reached out to UVic security.... He said ... 'police know it’s important to act quickly on these situations before they become too entrenched.'"

Right now the city’s draft budget includes a 7.28% property tax increase: 🚔 5.06% of the increase = what VicPD is demanding, and what the city is prepared to give them 🏙️ 2.22% of the increase = everything else in the city budget #yyj #DefundVicPD

"At the time of his arrest in Nov. 2022, Martin was working as a special constable with [VicPD]." Article says he was also the person investigated for "discreditable conduct and deceit after he allegedly recorded and shared videos of prisoners engaging in sexual acts." www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...

This is exactly the type of thing council should be doing, taking away $200k that would have gone to the police budget increase and funding rent supplements. Great! But as of now, the draft budget would still give VicPD 24 new officers (4 forced by the province) and an $11M budget lift to $90M. #yyj

Re-upping this to encourage people to flip back and forth between the images, so you can see how much more VicPD is redacting compared to just one year before. They are withholding far, far more information than they used to, making it increasingly hard to subject them to scrutiny through FOI. #yyj

This is exactly the type of thing council should be doing, taking away $200k that would have gone to the police budget increase and funding rent supplements. Great! But as of now, the draft budget would still give VicPD 24 new officers (4 forced by the province) and an $11M budget lift to $90M. #yyj

Through a new FOI, we can see that at least one VicPD officer used a police car as a weapon in 2024. But VicPD won’t release any details. It’s part of an increasing trend of secrecy, led by VicPD, to limit public scrutiny of their actions. www.needsmorespikes.com/blog/vicpd-s... #yyj #cdnfoi 🧵

“It serves VicPD’s interests, not the public’s, to release text justifying their officers’ actions, while not releasing any text about what they did.” #DefundVicPD #yyj www.needsmorespikes.com/blog/vicpd-s...

Through a new FOI, we can see that at least one VicPD officer used a police car as a weapon in 2024. But VicPD won’t release any details. It’s part of an increasing trend of secrecy, led by VicPD, to limit public scrutiny of their actions. www.needsmorespikes.com/blog/vicpd-s... #yyj #cdnfoi 🧵

Folks, I hate to add to the stack, but... I need help Bailey, my pitbull-corgi, may have cancer. An emergency late-night visit just led to this horrible discovery. Bailey is my whole world and I failed to plan. I am sorry. Any help you can offer at this link is welcome. ko-fi.com/E1E168F96#ch...

There’s a #vicpdboard meeting at 5:00 pm. Will follow along. They didn’t post their agenda in advance (they’ve met that legal requirement 1/3 of the time). Things they may discuss: increasing their 2026 budget request; no charges for officer who shot and killed a man in 2021 without warning. #yyj 🧵

BC knew that just 0.3% of drugs seized in Vancouver by weight were hydromorphone. "Rather than publicize the evidence to correct loud claims of diversion flooding communities, the BC government opted to sit on the information and retreat from safe supply." @godfrey.bsky.social reports:

The Tyee asked the health ministry for an explanation as to why it was acceptable to withhold this data during a public health emergency that had killed thousands of British Columbians. It’s been four weeks and we still haven’t heard back. @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/News/2026/02...

"Time and again, we see that if the police have access to the public's info, they misuse it." Yep. Good video below, and here's a thread with 50 documented cases of police in B.C. misusing their access to personal information. bsky.app/profile/step...

List of suspected Nazi war criminals welcomed in Canada should stay secret, information watchdog rules By Marie Woolf theglobeandmail.com/politics/art... #cdnfoi #cdnpoli

🚨Just two days left to provide feedback on the city’s draft financial plan. We’ve made it easy just check out our website for resources ⬇️ 🚨Or you can simply email council and say “Dont hire 25 more cops!” #yyj #DefundVicPD

If you live in #yyj you have until January 23rd to write in opposing this year's increase in the police budget.

There’s a #yyj police board meeting at 5:00 pm. Will follow along on this thread, if it streams (the board doesn't know). Agenda includes two items where VicPD will likely repeat recent talking points. Agenda: vicpd.ca/wp-content/u... Possible stream: www.youtube.com/channel/UCKK... #vicpdboard 🧵

Saw what looks like an AI-generated letter in Vic News from a resident talking up VicPD. They have a $760,000 PR budget, let them write their own stuff.

Good article here, hopefully Luamba's case succeeds. Police traffic enforcement is not neutral. Locally, VicPD's data suggests they target Black, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and South Asian drivers. #yyj 1/2

My @thetyee.ca piece today, part of an ongoing series looking at persistent issues in B.C. public education.

This has been making the BlueSky rounds again, so I'll give it my own little boost.

VicPD talked on their podcast about how they may involve themselves in the 2026 municipal elections, just like they did last time. Police in politics in #yyj! I left in the lead-in from 2022 where they complained about Isitt comparing the library budget to theirs. open.spotify.com/episode/2xyy...

Visit our website for details on how to provide feedback on the updated 2026-2030 Draft Financial Plan. Comments must be submitted by January 23 at 11:59 pm! And share with your friends and family! #yyj #deFundVicPD defundvicpd.org/2026/01/08/v...

Please share! If you are a Victoria resident you have until Jan 23 to tell Mayor and Council to reject a 14% budget increase for VicPD. Councillors want specifics, so tell them not to hire 25 new officers! Easy template and emails on our blog: defundvicpd.org/2026/01/08/v... #yyj #defundVicPD

I wrote this post about Del Manak's legacy as chief. It seems relevant today when he's made it clear he's considering a mayoral run. www.needsmorespikes.com/blog/del-man... #yyj

VicPD files an average of two use of force reports a day. And they use a weapon on someone, or threaten to use a weapon on someone, an average of once a day.

42 people died from unregulated drugs while in a medical facility between January 1 2023 and August 31 2025 in British Columbia Here is the list. Remember when people were complaining about drug users in hospitals ?

Stories about officers misusing police databases to look people up who they shouldn't are incredibly common. And yet, when I asked VicPD for copies of any audits they'd done to look for unauthorized database use, they said "no audits have been conducted" over the six-year period I asked about. (1/2)

Stories about officers misusing police databases to look people up who they shouldn't are incredibly common. And yet, when I asked VicPD for copies of any audits they'd done to look for unauthorized database use, they said "no audits have been conducted" over the six-year period I asked about. (1/2)

When I went to the energy ministry for a response to the story I was writing, I was told some of the info I'd received should have been redacted because it was commercially sensitive They asked me not to write the story or share the info They deleted the package from the public FOI request log

There’s a #yyj police board meeting at 5:00 pm today. Will try to follow along here. Not much to post about beforehand, as they’ve stopped posting detailed agendas with attachments. Public agenda: vicpd.ca/wp-content/u... Stream: www.youtube.com/channel/UCKK... #vicpdboard 🧵

Update: VicPD told CHEK the discrepancy between OT in its budgets and the FOI data is that its budgets also count "standby" pay as OT. That means that in addition to officers' base pay and $5.1 million in OT, VicPD paid out about $1.3 million in standby pay in 2024. cheknews.ca/17-vicpd-off... #yyj

A brief mention of an abusive relationship between a Vancouver police officer and a teen he met at school in a recent watchdog report shows a need for more transparency around the identities of officers who commit misconduct, says a civil liberties advocate. @kehyslop.bsky.social reports. #vanpoli

I heard someone mention Del Manak today! Here's a post on his time as chief. He spoke positively about an officer accused of sexual assault, "reamed out" a publisher, and said VPD handcuffing an Indigenous man and his 12-year-old granddaughter after they tried to open a bank account was justified.

While VicPD is asking for an $11 million, 14% budget increase in 2026, new FOI data shows that from 2022 to 2024, 48 VicPD officers made over $50,000 in overtime in a single year, with two constables pocketing over $100,000 in extra pay in 2022. www.needsmorespikes.com/blog/vicpd-o... #yyj #cdnfoi

City Council: “This is hard. Residents should bring forward concrete ways to trim the budget.” Us: “Ok. Dont hire 25 new cops.” Council: “Not like that!” #yyj #Defundvicpd www.timescolonist.com/local-news/v...

“The Lovejoy Trap is […] also frighteningly effective at packaging extreme inhumanity as being necessary “for the children.” It leapfrogs right over any discussion of the facts because it feels like life or death.” www.liberalcurrents.com/the-lovejoy-...

#yyj 🧐 Quite the conundrum. vicnews.com/2025/12/03/v...

While VicPD is asking for an $11 million, 14% budget increase in 2026, new FOI data shows that from 2022 to 2024, 48 VicPD officers made over $50,000 in overtime in a single year, with two constables pocketing over $100,000 in extra pay in 2022. www.needsmorespikes.com/blog/vicpd-o... #yyj #cdnfoi

A thread Tomorrow the premier of B.C. will announce that his government has failed the youth of this province and to address that, young people in trouble will be subject to indefinite medical detention.

Bollocks! Drug seizures lead to MORE overdoses. During Task Force Barrage, I reversed 3 ODs. At one, a cop threatened to arrest me for being in the way - after I saved the guy. Our Mayor is full of shite. www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...

This answer seems incorrect. Rejected financial analyst position is back, but they're calling it a "reclassification." "Electrification of the fleet," rejected as discretionary, is also mentioned. More ambiguous, there are probably also discretionary reserve transfers for retirements, also rejected.

A VicPD officer got a verbal reprimand for slamming someone's head into the ground after they were in handcuffs. I did some reporting on VicPD's use of force on people in handcuffs here. www.needsmorespikes.com/blog/use-of-... VicPD is trying to suppress releasing future use of force datasets. #yyj

“a [VPD] member attended a high school to provide a presentation on policing, following which the member exchanged emails with a female student regarding a career in policing. After the student had graduated high school, the two became engaged in an intimate relationship” opcc.bc.ca/wp-content/u...

There’s a #yyj police board meeting at 5:00 pm. Will follow along here. It’s the first time VicPD met the legal requirement to post the agenda a week in advance. Maybe the trade-off was “put nothing in there.” Agenda: vicpd.ca/wp-content/u... Stream: www.youtube.com/channel/UCKK... #vicpdboard 🧵

VicPD's 2026 budget proposal is outrageous and harmful. I've reposted my email to #yyj council here. I encourage anyone opposed to uncontrolled police spending to write to Victoria ([email protected]) or Esquimalt ([email protected]) to tell them. www.needsmorespikes.com/blog/2025/11...

It took reporter @kehyslop.bsky.social 21 months of FOI requests and pursuing a formal review of the VPD's denial for info to get the police to release the names of officers who currently staff Vancouver schools. thetyee.ca/News/2025/11...