POLICE TO CRACK DOWN ON ADDICTS

Force Announces Measures In Response To Critics Of Activity Near
Safe-Injection Site

VANCOUVER -- The highly controversial supervised injection site for
Vancouver's heroin addicts is having minimal impact on the street
life in the drug-infested Downtown Eastside, police, addicts and
activists said yesterday.

Hundreds of addicts continue to shoot up on the street and in
alleyways within shouting distance of Insite, the
government-supervised injection site that opened two years ago as a
safe alternative to openly injecting on the street.

Addicts continue to toss used needles onto the streets -- on average
about 7,000 every month. Store owners in the neighbourhood continue
to complain to police about addicts dealing drugs and shooting up in
their doorways. Tourists continue to tell police they cannot believe
their eyes when they see people openly injecting drugs on the street.

In an effort to change the street scene and encourage greater use of
Insite, the Vancouver Police Department has announced a crackdown on
drug addicts.

After two years of standing by and watching, police will once again
arrest those who are breaking the law, Inspector Bob Rolls told
reporters at a news conference yesterday.

Police have worked "very diligently" to encourage addicts to use
Insite, he said. "We walked people to the site and tried to
discourage IV [intravenous] use on the streets. But we found, two
years down the road, we still have a high number of IV users on the street."

The police recognize drug addiction as a health issue, not a criminal
issue, Insp. Rolls also said. But police must step in when the
addicts' activities interfere with other people's lives and their use
of the area, he said.

Insp. Rolls cited a complaint from a volunteer at the Carnegie
Community Centre at Main Street and Hastings Street. She could not
walk up the stairs to the building because a woman was stretched out
on the steps, putting a needle into her neck.

When the volunteer complained, the woman lashed out at her, Insp.
Rolls said. She was told, how dare she interfere when the woman had
just managed to have the needle in the right position to inject. "I
think that kind of behaviour is really unacceptable," he said.

He also recalled an incident in which someone was doing a drug deal,
standing next to a senior police officer who was being interviewed by
the media.

"It's that blatant disregard. . . . It creates that sense of
lawlessness, that it is all right to do whatever you want in that
area," he said. "We want to send out a message; we recognize you have
a drug addiction. But there is still a level of behaviour that is not
acceptable."

More than a dozen protesters carried placards outside Insite during a
noon-hour rally yesterday. "Insite filled to capacity: Where are you
taking me," stated a placard held by a 35-year-old man who said his
first name was Rob.

Rob said he had been an addict for 20 years. He goes to Insite a few
times a day. But he still shoots up frequently on the street outside
the facility. He wants to use the drugs as soon as he gets them, he
said. "You go in there, and it is sometimes a long time to wait, up
to 30 minutes," he said.

Four or five more injection sites with staggered hours are needed in
the neighbourhood, Ann Livinston, co-ordinator of the Vancouver Area
Network of Drug Users, said in an interview.

The Downtown Eastside has 5,000 drug addicts, Ms. Livingston said.
But only 600 injections a day take place at Insite.

The safe-injection site has had a psychological and political impact,
but has not had an impact on the neighbourhood. "It is just not big
enough," she said.

Dianne Tobin, president of the drug users group, said funds dedicated
to the police crackdown and court processing of those arrested should
be spent on opening more injection sites.

"No one wants to do it in a back alley. They want to be safe."

Insp. Rolls said police began telling addicts about the crackdown 10
days ago. "We told them, if you guys continue to shoot up on the
street in front of SIS [the safe injection site], you are going to be charged.

"All they have to do is walk into SIS. I don't think that is very difficult."

Police will arrest only the most blatant users on the street, Insp.
Rolls also said. They do not anticipate all charges will lead to jail
sentences.

"We hope it is going to send a clear message, that this behaviour on
the street is just not acceptable," he said.

Police would reconsider laying charges if the safe injection site was
unable to handle all the addicts, he said. "We're not trying to make
it difficult. We're trying to educate, trying to make it better for
all of the people in the Downtown Eastside," he said.

"I think we have to figure out a way to get a handle on this. To us,
this [the crackdown] is just another education tool. If this does not
work, we will try something different."