Someone's Always Watching Me

Is it just me or does Vancouver feel like it is becoming a police state? Everywhere I go, I am constantly aware of peripheral security presence. Whether it's a trip to the mall or a pit stop at the library, I can always count on locking eyes with some sort of guard. I can't even buy a tube of lipstick anymore without some beefy guy watching me test it out in the store mirror. What's up with this constant scrutiny?

Are Vancouverites really that poorly behaved that we face Orwellian babysitters every time we step out the door? All of this security doesn't make me feel safe, it scares me.

The negative energy exuded by these hired hulks is ruining the vibe of this city. If this is life in the post 9-11 era, we need to go back to the drawing board and devise some safety measures that actually build community, not invade it.

If this is how we gear up for the 2010 Olympic Games, we aren't preparing for a two-week party. More like an international retreat for Big Brother and his mean-spirited friends.

Cold welcome

Recently I attended a private party held at a high profile Kitsilano restaurant. The function was a black tie affair. The night was brisk. I approached the door in a short cocktail dress and high heels, anxious to step inside. But before I could go in, a heavy set man built like a tank stopped me in my tracks and asked me in a gruff voice if I had a ticket. "Yes, I do . . ." I said rummaging through my bag slightly annoyed at his interrogation. He stood over me, breathing down my neck until I produced the correct documentation. As I was going in, he yelled over to me "There's no in or out privileges either." Talk about a gruff welcome!

Just a few days ago I was studying at my local library and didn't realize I had stayed a few minutes past closing time. Suddenly, I felt a presence at my back. I turned around and there was a stocky security guard staring at me. "Ms. . . . you'll have to leave now. It's past five o'clock," he said tapping at his large digital watch. (It was 5:04 to be exact.) I began to gather my things. But I wasn't left alone to pack up. The man just hovered over me and watched me stuff each pencil, pen and book into my bag. Then he escorted me out of the room. It seemed a bit excessive. What was I going to do? Stay in the cubicle all night? Ransack the bookshelves?

According to provincial statistics recently quoted in the Georgia Straight, there are almost 40 per cent more licensed security guards than police in B.C. Their numbers are rapidly increasing. In 1996, there were 8,285 licensed security personnel patrolling the province's streets, but the latest statistics (from 2005) shows there are now close to 12,000 of them. Evidently, private security guards are in high demand. Case in point: the City of Vancouver recently expanded its Downtown Ambassadors program with an annual infusion of $872,000. Their mandate is supposed to focus on hospitality service and crime prevention.

But who are these people minding our lives and what are their credentials?

Apparently, I'm not the only one asking these questions. Even the Vancouver Police Union is up in arms over this arrangement. The union argues it is their job to enforce laws, prevent crime and uphold order, and they've launched a legal challenge over the issue. No word yet on how the City will respond to the police union's concerns.

Life in the fishbowl

I say if we are constantly being watched simply for going about our daily business, it's bound to have an effect on how we interact with each other. This idea is not new. French philosopher Michel Foucault once wrote an essay called "Panopticism" in which he discussed power and discipline within a prison setting. He claimed constant observation gave prisoners a feeling of inferiority and powerlessness. It might sound far fetched to compare our city to a prison, but when public space becomes heavily regulated by surveillance, the metaphor seems more apt.

It used to be only celebrities were subject to life in a fishbowl. But arguably the gaze of the security guards has become like the paparazzi for the rest of us: watching over every move, recording our actions when we are not aware of them.

We have to question the impact these hired guards are having on our quality of life. I appreciate a certain amount of security in high profile and high crime locations such as banks and Skytrain stations is warranted, but do we really have to encounter a man in (a corporate) uniform when we are browsing for CDs or rummaging through racks of clothes?

If public order is such a high priority in Vancouver, let's put money into solving the root causes of civil unrest and start feeding and housing disruptive people.

Then again, this business of intimidation just might be a local by-product of a larger, more troubling trend: disrupting the peace in the name of freedom. Let's be careful what we wish for.

Related Tyee stories:

• Bad Numbers for 'Civil City'
  Vancouver's citizen security project way off its goals.
• A City's Fragile Soul
  The push to slick up Vancouver, and the price.
• A Clear View of Vancouver
  Author Lance Berelowitz on the city's shiny dreams and scruffy potential. A Tyee interview.