 Hello, I'm Adam Palmer, Chief Constable of the Vancouver Police Department. The Vancouver Police Department is committed to working with sex workers to address any violence or exploitation that they may experience and to take sex workers' complaints seriously. The safety of all Vancouver citizens, and that includes sex workers, is the focus of our work as police officers. We all know there is still work to do, but we have been changing and learning better ways to promote safety. We hope you'll join us in creating a new relationship between sex workers, community, and the police. Thank you. Controversial issues will always be present in Vancouver's diverse communities. The challenges of mental health, substance misuse, homelessness, and the exploitation of marginalized persons are just a few examples of the daily realities faced by Vancouver Police. These challenges have resulted in the VPD adapting to new ideas and changes in perception and policing practices. For example, over time the VPD have come to view substance misuse in a different way. We now address the public consumption of drugs with the view of ensuring the safety of both the user and the neighborhood. The same type of change is occurring in how the VPD addresses issues in the sex industry. The sex work enforcement guidelines apply to everyone engaging in sex work in the city of Vancouver and represent the best practices of local law enforcement to bridge the gaps between police officers, sex workers, and communities in Vancouver. In the course of their daily duties, police officers have contact with sex workers. These guidelines explain the most effective way for police officers to interact with sex workers with a focus on safety, respect, and relationship building. We want to make sure you understand that the Vancouver Police don't believe that you're a bad person and will not judge you just because you do sex work. In fact, sex work between consenting adults is not an enforcement priority for us. What is important to us are situations involving children and youth, violence, criminal exploitation, gangs, human trafficking, and organized crime. Historically, many sex workers in Vancouver have not felt safe to trust the police. We really want to have a better working relationship with sex workers, one that is based on mutual respect. We know that many crimes against sex workers are not reported to us due to lack of trust, and together, we really want to change that. We want to hear from sex workers when violence occurs. Sex workers are members of our community, and these reports are as important as anyone else's. Sex workers' safety is our priority. Sometimes we get complaints from other community members about sex work and we have to respond. When this happens, we will try to use the least intrusive method possible to resolve the issue, and we will ensure that sex workers' rights and safety are also respected. There is a responsibility we all share in taking care of our beautiful city. Noise and litter are some of the main complaints that we hear. Sex workers can help to reduce community complaints by making sure they are respecting their neighbors, whether they are working indoors or outdoors, and make sure that they aren't working near a school, playground, or daycare center. It is important to remember that the sex work enforcement guidelines apply in Vancouver only. Other police forces in the Metro Vancouver area are not bound by the guidelines and will engage with sex workers as their local policies and practices dictate. While the guidelines don't overrule federal laws surrounding prostitution issues, we are committed to following the guidelines first and foremost to promote the safety of sex workers and the community. We want to know how we are doing. If there is a time when sex workers don't feel that they have been treated fairly by the VPD, we hope they will contact us or a local support agency. We will work on resolving the issue together so we can continue to improve.