Vancouver Police Propose Gay Crimes Databank
by Rich Peters
365Gay.com Newscenter, Vancouver

(November 21, Vancouver) Following an appeal for help yesterday to find the killers of Aaron Webster Vancouver police say a dozen new tips have come in.

Webster was murdered by as many as four men as he cruised Stanley Park early Saturday morning. Police have labelled the killing a hate crime.

Gays in Vancouver's gay village say they are frequently targeted for assaults.  But, a survey in 1995 on gay bashings showed that only a handful of the people who were actually assaulted reported the crimes.  Despite Vancouver's openness many gays are still unwilling to identify themselves as gay. 

Official statistics show that hate crimes in General are down in British Columbia, but gay community leaders dispute the figures.

Police also admit that it has been hard tracking down the perpetrators.

Vancouver went through a rash of vicious gay bashings in the early 1990s. In 1992, Steve Macklin, who was then 27 was almost killed in an attack by three men in almost the same way Webster was killed.

It took eight metal plates and 38 screws to rebuild Macklin's face. No one was ever charged.

Tuesday police said there is a need for a databank to track those who target gays.

"Every person who engages in this type of activity will be documented and recorded and if they’ve committed a criminal offence, a threat, an assault, they will be prosecuted as fully as we possibly can," said Insp. Dave Jones of Vancouver police told Global news in Vancouver.

The Kinsey Report
Getting Off Safely

http://365gay.com/community/others/vancouver/112101kinsey.htm

I have never been one to wander very far from home at night; I know that the shadows are to be feared.  History has taught us that most crimes are committed after dusk.  If I do have to venture out after, dark I try to stay clear of the alleys and try to take the more traveled routes. 

I, like many others, have known the pleasures (and thrills) of public sex, but I have never gone out alone to a dark and isolated area.  That isn't a condemnation of park sex.  It's just who I am.

Just as we start to regain our composure over the 911 Tragedy, we, once again, have become victims.  Terrorism comes in many forms and hate crimes are one of them.  Vancouver's 41-year-old Aaron Webster was a victim of such a crime. 

I consider Webster's murder to be terrorism because it’s a crime that affects the entire community and changes every ones perspective on safety.  After reading about Aaron’s horrific death, who could feel safe? 

It is not just in parks.  Danger can lurk anywhere: a casual pickup in a bar, a chance meeting on the street, or a date made in a chat room.

If you feel an uncontrollable need to go walking in the woods late at night please use the buddy system lest we loose you as well.

Here are a few safe cruising tips: