Pubdate: Tue, 25 Mar 2003
Source: Victoria News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2003 Victoria News
Contact:  http://www.vicnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1267
Author: Don Descoteau

CORE CLEAN-UP WORKING

Victoria police Chief Paul Battershill wasn't kidding when he uttered the 
words, "we are prepared to make it very unpleasant to be a drug trafficker 
in this city".

He made the statement at a January press conference, ushering in the start 
of the city's Downtown Action Plan.

Whether unpleasant is the best word to describe the current street 
environment for pushers and others who would profit from the drug trade on 
the city's streets is open to interpretation.

But for certain, Victoria police are making it a lot tougher for them to do 
business out in the open in the downtown core.

Since the formation of the police department's 20-member drug task force, 
which coincided with the announcement of the action plan, more than 300 
arrests have been made in the downtown core. Nearly half of those have been 
for trafficking or possession for the purpose of trafficking -- mainly for 
cocaine, according to Sgt. Darren Laur, the street-level officer in charge 
of the task force -- and simple possession. Dozens more charges of breach 
of the terms of release or parole have been laid against individuals 
previously charged or convicted of drug offences, terms that include 
illegally being inside the "red zone".

Laur says that so far, according to police, the effort to crackdown on the 
urban drug scene is making a difference in the core.

Asked whether drug dealers are increasingly finding other areas of town to 
meet their customers, since the demand remains for drugs such as cocaine, 
methamphetamine and heroin by the more than 2,000 active addicts in the 
Capital Region, Laur says no new hot spots have emerged.

"They're moving, but we're moving with them," he says. "We've noticed a 
little bit of increased activity up around the Quadra and Pandora area but 
we seemed to have nipped it in the bud."

Laur says people he has spoken to who live downtown say they feel safer 
with less visual drug activity going on around them.

Battershill says he walks the downtown most evenings and has noticed a 
"significant decrease" in activity that could be considered "threatening" 
by some people. He adds that a psychiatrist who works with mentally 
disordered people who live downtown recently told him that his clients say 
they're feeling safer overall.

But some downtown merchants point to another issue that continues to create 
difficulties for businesses.

"I guess getting dealers off the streets is moving in the right direction," 
says Stuart Clarke, manager of Robinson's Sporting Goods on Broad Street. 
"But this town needs to be cleaned up."

Clarke says with so many people living or hanging out on the street, and so 
few washroom facilities available, sanitary issues are becoming a problem. 
Many downtown retailers have policies in place of not allowing 
non-customers to use their restrooms.

A call to the City of Victoria's street cleaning department found that 
clean-up of unsanitary conditions downtown or anywhere in the city are 
complaint-driven. A staff member says crews are available quickly to clean 
up any kind of mess.

Battershill admits the issue of street people is complex. Some are truly 
homeless and some aren't. Some are dealing drugs or simply have addictions 
that cause problems for others downtown, while others might simply be 
panhandling to earn enough money for food and shelter.

"We have to show a firmness that's compassionate," he says, adding the 
firmness is needed for trafficking issues while compassion is necessary for 
when dealing with people who simply need guidance toward social services.

Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) spokesperson Shelby Chamberlain 
says discussions are continuing toward the creation of a sobering and 
treatment centre for addicts and alcoholics. She says VIHA hopes to make an 
announcement sometime next month -- along with its partners in the Downtown 
Action Plan, the police and the city -- on the services such a centre would 
provide and where it could be located.

It would be part of an expanded mental health and addiction services 
program for VIHA on the South island, she says.

In theory, the centre would give police an alternative place to direct 
addicts they encounter -- including dealers -- rather than simply tossing 
them in jail and seeing them released into unsafe situations soon after.

While he said it isn't appropriate for the police to comment on sentences 
to people convicted of drug offences, Battershill says he has been pleased 
with how all the components of the justice system are working together to 
solve the problems. "I would say the sentencing has been proper and balanced."

Despite what is being trumpeted as an impressive rate, there are no plans 
to let up on the enforcement side of the Downtown Action Plan. As part of 
the continued focus on downtown enforcement, Laur said the department plans 
to change its shift times, to keep off guard those people who think they 
know when less officers are on duty.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart