When it comes to policing, drugs are the top concern of Rupertites. Sixty-one per cent of respondents to an annual community policing survey just released by the local RCMP detachment said fighting local drug traffickers should be the number 1 priority of local law enforcement officials. Survey results will be used by the detachment to plan its local priorities for the coming year. Breaking and entering was a distant second, with 16 per cent of the 360 people who completed the survey fingering B&Es as the top priority. That was followed closely by youth crime, at 12 per cent. [continues 156 words]
Efforts to set up a methadone treatment program in Prince Rupert continue despite the fact pharmacies will not dispense the drug. According to minutes from the last meeting of the North Coast Community Health Council's finance and operations committee, local drug stores aren't interested in dispensing methadone. Currently, about 20 people from the city travel to Terrace or Kitimat for the drug - prescribed as a replacement for heroin. "There's a definite need here in the community," said Kim Bowhachewski, an outreach worker with AIDS Prince Rupert - the group that operates the local needle exchange program. [continues 254 words]
