VANCOUVER - Assurances Vancouver police won't clamp down on anti- Olympic protesters during the 2010 Winter Olympics hasn't comforted Games critics.

Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu said Thursday his officers won't be setting up Beijing-style protest corrals or barging into people's homes to rip down anti-Olympic signs.

"There are no protest-only zones, no demonstration pens and no corrals,'' said Chu.

"No extraordinary efforts will be made to restrict protests or contain them because of the Olympics ... Protesters are free to gather in any public space as long as their actions are legal.''

The City of Vancouver has passed a bylaw that some protesters say could give authorities the right to enter people's private property to remove anti-Olympic signs.

But Chu said police would not be entering homes to enforce the bylaw aimed at curbing so-called guerrilla marketing campaigns, where advertisers mount displays near Olympic venues.

City bylaw officers will need warrants to remove unsanctioned ads, he said, but "they will not be focusing on signage that is a political or personal statement.''

Police will be present only to keep the peace, he said.

"We are not the sign police.''

Anti-Olympic activist Chris Shaw said while it's good Chu is reaffirming support for the Charter of Rights, a lawsuit will proceed against the contentious city bylaw he believes will limit protests.

Parts of Chu's statement, which the department posted on its web site, remain vague, said Shaw, just like the bylaw itself.

"It made it very uncertain what was going to be policed, what was not, what was marketing, what was protest,'' he said.

Chu said the Vancouver police policy also does not apply to the security zones being thrown up around Games venues, which are the responsibility of the RCMP-led Integrated Security Unit.

The unit wants to set up "safe assembly areas'' for protesters but says on its web site they are not intended to limit where people can demonstrate.

"Where possible, ISU security planners will identify visible areas where people may choose to lawfully express their views in safe locations close to Olympic venues,'' the policy says.

"Persons do not have to use these designated areas.''

It says the idea springs partly from recommendations of a public inquiry into the chaotic 1997 Asia-Pacific leaders' summit in Vancouver, when police couldn't cope with massive demonstrations and ended up pepper-spraying peaceful protesters at the University of British Columbia.

Chu indicated he'd also like potential protest groups to suggest locations they'd like to use "that will keep them safe and ensure visibility ...''

Games critics have inferred Vancouver's plans for 2010 parallel the Chinese government's largely successful clampdown on protests at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The government there set up protest zones that required demonstrators to get a permit. The zones went largely unused throughout the Summer Games.

Police in Victoria have said they will use Games security protocols to set up protest areas for when the Olympic torch relay comes through the B.C. capital.

Shaw and other critics argue in their suit that the city bylaw aimed at protecting Olympic sponsorship rights could be used to stop legitimate protest.

"The suit is going on until we get absolute clarity on what is and isn't covered by these bylaws,'' he said.

Vancouver Deputy Chief Steve Sweeny said the force is not daunted by the prospect of demonstrations during the Games.

"We have upwards of 150 a year that occur in Vancouver,'' he said.

"Some are a single individual with a placard and some of them are very large gatherings, but we have learned over the years how to manage these effectively.''

Sweeny said police have not met directly with anyone to talk about protest venues but the ISU and the Joint Intelligence Group has made contact with Olympic critics.

"Some of that outreach may have been misinterpreted,'' he said.

Several people, some with only peripheral ties to anti-Games protesters, have complained of being approached by police in public about their views.

RCMP Supt. Kevin deBruyckere of the Olympics security unit made no apologies for one such encounter involving a man who said he endorses "direct action'' against the Games, including blowing up power lines.

"People that make those type of comments should be expecting a visit and a conversation with a police officer,'' the senior Mountie said.