COPS FED UP WITH DRUG USERS, NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE

Crack pipes, used condoms and human feces left on an elementary
school's front steps.

Businesses seeing a drop in customers.

And a two-year-old girl placing a spent syringe in her mouth.

These are anecdotes Vancouver police Insp. Bob Rolls shared at a
press conference to illustrate what he says is the need for the
police's latest action to curb drug use in the Downtown Eastside and
rest of the city.

"There is an increasing perception or a sense of entitlement or
empowerment by drug users that it's OK to openly shoot up or smoke
drugs wherever they like," Rolls said. "We don't allow this for
consuming alcohol, yet we allow it for cocaine and heroin use. This
just doesn't make any sense."

The project, which Rolls plans to run indefinitely, follows a
crackdown police began in November that targeted people injecting
drugs within a four-block radius of the city's supervised injection
site on East Hastings.

Police arrested 13 people in that project, with each person adhering
to bail restrictions requested by police. They include restricting
their travel to certain parts of the city and not having any drugs or
drug paraphernalia on their person.

None has gone to trial or had their cases finalized.

Although such restrictions might seem automatic, Rolls discussed the
police's frustration with the lack of consequences for drug users
after they're arrested.

At least six years ago, drug use in the city was considered more of a
"medical issue" than a "criminal issue," he said. It wasn't in the
public interest to charge people for simple possession of drugs, he added.

"You always have to reevaluate and that's what we've done," he said,
noting the police action has the support of Crown counsel.

Though the majority-if not all-of the open air drug use is
concentrated in the Downtown Eastside and downtown core, Rolls
pointed out the police action will occur across the city.

The crackdown includes a "zero tolerance" approach to drug use
occurring in parks and on school grounds. He told the anecdote of a
single mother who rushed her two-year-old daughter to hospital after
she picked up a spent syringe and put it in her mouth.

The incident occurred last summer at the Ray Cam Community Centre
grounds at Campbell and Hastings. The young girl was treated and she
remains healthy.

"The mother was absolutely panic-stricken."

Police began arresting drug users last Friday. As of yesterday
morning, police forwarded charges to Crown counsel for five people.
Rolls is expecting a lot more charges.

He pointed out, however, that police won't be targeting drug users
huddled in alcoves or shooting up or smoking drugs in rooming houses.

"We're not condoning drug use-period. But we have a limited number of
police officers and we're going to concentrate on where the problem
is, and it's around this type of activity."

When asked if he was concerned the action would plug up the courts,
Rolls said, "You have to be realistic about this, [the courts] have
limited capacity and we've got limited capacity. The idea is to be
strategic and effective."

In advance of their crackdown, Rolls said police contacted various
agencies in the Downtown Eastside, including the Vancouver Area
Network of Drug Users.

Diane Tobin, president of the drug users' group, said the police
action will be a waste of money and force drug users into other
neighbourhoods, where there will be more open air drug activity.

Tobin said Vancouver Coastal Health should follow up on a plan by
former mayor Larry Campbell who called for the supervised injection
site to allow crack smokers to smoke inside the facility.

"There should be more housing, more energy into prevention-not
enforcement," she said. "Pushing users into other areas is just
exasperating the whole situation."