PROBLEM REMAINS THE SAME

Abbotsford Mayor Mary Reeves told the Times recently the prostitution
problem in the downtown core has improved.

It's not the stupidest thing a politician said last month, but it was
close.

What she said exactly: "According to the reports I get from the
downtown businesses, the problem down there has subsided since last
year."

Honestly, we would have been more surprised if the downtown business
owners had said anything else.

A year and a half ago the Times began a series of examinations of the
hooker/drug addict presence in our core. A few months after that
publicity, there were promises of cleaning up the area, chasing away
the dealers and the hookers and drawing families back to the downtown.

And, to be fair, some of that has happened. Some of the problems that
existed 18 months ago have been moved. But not eliminated.

Problems with drugs and related crime have cropped up in other parts
of the city as the hookers were squeezed out. But, in the end, the
core is still the best place to go for drugs or sex.

And we don't need the mayor or community outreach workers to explain
this to us. The problem remains highly visible and any trip through
the downtown, especially in the vicinity of Pauline Street and Jubilee
Park, reveals the stark reality of the problem.

Efforts such as tearing down a known drug house have helped the
problem cosmetically, but there is still no mistaking the needy,
desperate glance you get from a woman working one of the city's street
corners.

The hookers themselves have acknowledged the problem still exists.
They even have suggestions for ways to fix it.

And therein lies the problem. Because while Reeves and other
politicians claim to be addressing the problem, they are still failing
to understand it.

Their ridiculous refusal to permit the Salvation Army's bridge house
aptly illustrated how little they understand the problem they are
trying to fix.

Policing is important and we applaud the efforts of our
manpower-strapped department in doing their best to disperse the
criminal element, but they are only treating the symptoms.

In the end, it's kind of like rearranging the deck chairs on the
Titanic.

Berry festivals, block parties and bench art won't save the downtown.
It will take hard work, compassion and vision.

So far, we are lacking all three.