Interview with Vancouver Police Department (VPD) Sex Trade Liaison Person, Dave Dickson
Contribution by Jennifer Allan
JA: What does your new job require you to do?
DD: My offi cial title is a Sex Trade Liaison Person,
and the reason it’s a “person” is because there was a
problem with me coming back in uniform, so the police
department decided— because of my experience, years
of service, and relationship with the organization and
sex workers—[to bring] me back as a civilian position,
so the lack of uniform doesn’t act as a barrier. So,
I’m still doing the same thing I’ve done for twentysomething
years, I’m an advocate for the women and
kids down there. I work with the organizations trying
to keep the kids out of the sex trade. And I work with
[women and men in the sex trade] as an advocate and
sometimes as a bridge between the police and them.
Because, historically, our relationship hasn’t been
as good as it could be, a lot of people for a variety of
reasons don’t trust the police. I try and bridge that
by helping them put in reports, I help them to follow
up after, I’ll even hold their hand if they have to go to
court, and I’ll explain the system to them, how it works,
and, sometimes, how it doesn’t work.
JA: How long have you been with the VPD?
DD: I started in 1980, so twenty-six years now.
JA: In your opinion, why does your job need
to exist?
DD: Sex workers are one of the more vulnerable groups
in society, because of their job, so they need someone
they can trust and rely on. [A] lot of police are more
interested in enforcement, where they’re arresting
the girls and reacting to different 911 complaints.
So it’s nice for the women and kids on the street to
have someone they can call up, and trust, and relay
information to, or just ask for help in a whole bunch of
different ways.
JA: Has a new plan of action that addresses
the missing and murdered sex workers of the
Downtown Eastside (DTES) been developed since
your job began? If not, then what is the plan of
action?
DD: Well, before my job actually started, myself and
another inspector, John McKay, were already doing
a number of things. We had one thing we called the
“Confrontation Management for Women at High
Risk” program, whereby ninety per cent of the course
was verbal—how to de-escalate situations, how to
avoid violent confrontation—and, if all else fails, then
physical defence, with two or three basic moves for
emergency situations. So that was one thing we did,
and we actually won an international award [Women’s
Safety Award, 2004] for that, which was one of the
fi rst times the VPD had ever won anything like that.
This was a big step for the police department, I think,
and John McKay and I both agreed when people asked,
“Why would you do that?” It was a no-brainer, I think:
[the women] deserve the same protection as everyone
else. […]
JA: What is the difference between your approach
ten years ago, versus your approach today, when
dealing with violence against sex workers?
DD: My approach has always been the same, I’ve been
an advocate for as far back as I can remember, and I do
things differently. My pager is on seven days a week,
pretty much twenty-four hours a day. […] Everyone
knows they can contact me. Sometimes it’s just legal
advice, but other times its serious sexual assaults, and
if I’m not working I’ll get a hold of someone who is and
then help them out. So my approach hasn’t changed
one bit. But we’re trying to make the department’s
approach a little better. One of the other things we’redoing is trying to educate police offi cers who are coming
on to the job, where we’re talking to new offi cers out
of the academy. Before they go out, they have a week
of orientation at the police station. […] We talk about
stereotypes, and we talk about the new DNA thing we
want to do, so if you come across a scene and a girl
wants to leave, don’t just drive away: look for DNA,
identify the person that’s there, and get his name
recorded.
JA: When you started doing this with the new
recruits, in general, what was their attitude towards
sex workers?
DD: We got a lot of good feedback. A lot of them were
very naive, and were quite honest about it and are eager
to learn. […] But you certainly do get the odd guy who
has a bad attitude towards sex workers, and no amount
of training is going to change that. That’s why I tell my
class, if you have one guy who has that attitude, or treats
sex workers like crap, or degrades, it’s going to refl ect on
all of us. So it is okay to speak up. I’ve gotten into a few
discussions with a couple of policemen over the years,
and I have no problem jumping all over a guy if he’s
degrading some girl or just being an idiot. I’ll tell them.
JA: How do you send a message to sex predators
that the VPD does care about sex workers and won’t
tolerate their behaviour?
DD: Well, I think, through the
media, for one thing. We’re
starting a program where
we’ve hired a lawyer to act
on behalf of a number of
girls, and he’s actually going
to go after a suspect who
was tried and convicted
and went to jail for what
he did to these girls; he’s
going to go after him
civilly. We’re just sort of
setting this up now, so
when it happens we’ll do
a press conference, and
what we’re gong to say
is, “No longer will you
be able to come down
to the DTES and prey
on or victimize the women down here and get off with
probation or house arrest. Separate from the criminal
proceedings is another venue, and that’s the civil trial. If
you have a house or a car, or money, this lawyer is going
to come after you civilly.” That’s a whole different trial;
it’s a whole different ball game in civil court. […]
JA: How do you ensure that offi cers don’t mistreat
sex workers?
DD: That may still happen, but we’ll have to fi nd a way
around that and deal with that police offi cer when he
does that. I do a lot of talking, where I say [to a sex
worker], “Well, I’m sorry he said that, but we’ve got
to fi nd a way around this because you’re always going
to meet guys like that.” But that’s why I make myself
available. And now we have a couple of other offi cers
that are working down there who are really good, Dave
Hancock and Colin Downton. And they’ve been around
for a while, are very compassionate, and are good at
what they do. So it’s getting better; I can see more and
more guys turning that corner. […]
JA: What characteristics must a sex work liaison
offi cer have?
DD: Number one is compassion. I think people skills has
a lot to do with it. I was sort of lucky, and at an early age
I developed some really good people skills. I left home
when I was 15 years old,
went upcountry, and lived by
myself. I think that’s where I
learned respect for everybody.
It’s that old saying: “There
but for the grace of God go I.”
Treat everybody with the same
respect. And that’s what I try
to tell new recruits. You can go
out there and kick in doors and
arrest people and have all sorts
of fun, but don’t treat people
like assholes. Do your job, treat
everyone with respect, and it will
come back to you. I think that’s
the biggest one, don’t stereotype
people, be compassionate, and be
respectful.