Vancouver police chief Jim Chu says officers will not force homeless to shelters in extreme weather, even though a new law empowers them to do so. (CBC)

Vancouver's police chief says his officers won't use force to take homeless people to shelters during weather emergencies, despite a new law that gives them that power.

The B.C. government's recently passed Assistance to Shelter Act allows officers to take homeless people to shelters during bad-weather alerts.

But Chief Const. Jim Chu said Monday his officers won't go any further than "minimal, non-forceful touching, equivalent to the helping hand one would use in helping an elderly person cross the street."

And if people refuse that help, Chu said police will back off.

"If there is overt resistance, then we will back away and disengage," he said. "There'll be no further physical contact.

"They'll be allowed to remain where they are. We'll continue to try to use other steps, including persuasion."

The B.C. government passed the law fall after a homeless woman in Vancouver burned to death in a makeshift shelter last winter.

Critics skeptical

Under the law, police have the power to bundle a homeless person into their cruiser and take them to a shelter, but not force them inside.

Critics pounced on the legislation, with some saying it was an attempt to sweep the homeless from Vancouver's streets before visitors arrive for February's Winter Olympic Games.

Others warned it would drive many homeless people into hiding out of fear their shopping carts loaded with meagre possessions would be abandoned when they were taken away.

Civil rights groups were pleased with the new Vancouver police policy, which still must be confirmed by the city's police board Wednesday.

"I think that that is an acknowledgment that this act is unconstitutional and impractical and will put police in the position of having to do something illegal, frankly," said Laura Track, housing campaign lawyer for the Pivot Legal Society.

Constitutional challenge likely

Michael Vonn, policy director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said the Vancouver police policy appears to add nothing new to its approach to the homeless.

"Minimal force is standard policing, so I agree it adds fundamentally very, very little and it seems to indicate some kind of concerns relative to the act," she said.

But Track and Vonn pointed out the policy applies only to Vancouver and the law's expanded police power will still be in force elsewhere in British Columbia.

"I still expect that the act will be challenged in the courts," said Track.

"This is exactly the kind of law that's almost begging for a constitutional challenge," Vonn added.

Housing and Social Development Minister Rich Coleman, who's responsible for the law, was not available Monday to comment on the Vancouver police policy.

"The policy that the VPD has put in place appears to be a reasonable interpretation of the act, and we're confident the VPD will strengthen their policy once the province's regulations under the act are in place," a spokesman said via email.

Police have other means

Chu said police had a variety of tools before the law was passed to deal with homeless people they felt were in danger that still apply under this policy.

Officers can still take reluctant people who are under-age, intoxicated, need medical attention or fit criteria under the Mental Health Act.

Police already distribute food, drink, blankets and clothing to those who insist on staying outside, said Chu.

Under the new law, officers can spell out their authority under the act — even if they don't enforce it — and contact outreach workers to assist or arrange for periodic checks on those staying outside during weather alerts.

Const. Jodyne Keller, the department's homeless outreach co-ordinator, said officers have 30 to 40 contacts a day with homeless people and she personally sees 20 to 30.

She said many homeless may not want to go to shelters because of the threat of violence or losing their possessions, but want police to stay in touch.

With files from The Canadian Press