VPD
Police presence outside Downtown Eastside harm reduction sites sparks concerns
May 28, 2025By: Zainab Salam, Staff Writer and Hannah Fraser, News Editor Healthcare workers and patrons in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) are voicing concerns that the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) is “deterring access to harm reduction sites.” Harm reduction is an “evidence-based approach to care” that minimizes harms by “preventing infections, illness, and injury related to drug use and sexual practices.” According to a press release from the organization Police Oversight With Evidence and Research (POWER), police presence has significantly increased near harm reduction sites. POWER defines itself as a “community-led response to unaccountable institutions.” VPD officers have been observed “parking and…
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VPD executes arrest and search warrant on drug testing operation
November 20, 2023By: Olivia Sherman, News Writer On November 1, the director and founder of Get Your Drugs Tested, Dana Larsen, was arrested after a search warrant from the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) was executed. The VPD raided Larsen’s three Medicinal Mushroom…
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The VPD should not be barred from Pride this year
May 8, 2017In February, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Vancouver chapter petitioned to have the police removed from the Vancouver Pride Parade. Their rationale is that doing so would be a “‘symbolic gesture’ and actual sign of support for [people of colour]…
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New forensics course sparks program expansion
January 10, 2015Due to the overwhelming interest in SFU’s latest course, CRIM 449: Major Crime and Forensic Analysis for Law Enforcement, the School of Criminology will be expanding its offerings even further this year. Ryan Prox, a special constable with VPD and…
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