NANAIMO SETS TO WORK ON DRUG WOES

NANAIMO -- All appeared quiet along Victoria Road and Victoria
Crescent yesterday morning as Nanaimo city bylaw manager Randy
Churchill drove into work at city hall.

But he knows that unless there is a comprehensive strategy to carry
the momentum of the recent arrest of 21 suspected drug dealers, the
problems downtown will just return.

"Every time we have a displacement we have to be able to react to it,"
said Churchill.

From this point, he said, the city and property owners must work
together to focus their resources on various efforts to end the
problem, from physical fixes to trying to get resources for those who
want help.

"I see nothing but positives," said Churchill. "To us, this will make
a difference in the end."

George Hanson, with the Downtown Nanaimo Partnership, said they are
"100 per cent on-side with the comprehensive, collaborative approach."

But Hanson also realizes that while the problem is beyond arresting
the drug users, it is also a complicated and lengthy process.

"It's an enormous multi-faceted problem that Nanaimo is faced with,"
he said.

Churchill said the approach is for residents and city officials to
work through the community service office to direct resources to the
people who need them, and direct the people who need them to the resources.

"That combination is pretty effective," he said.

The real issue, said Hanson, is a lack of resources in any area, and
not relying on the police for everything.

"We are seeking the application and use of the scarce resources we
have," he said.

Both said an anti-john rally by the residents of the Nob Hill
neighbourhood is also a good indication that the collaborative
approach toward mitigating crime is working.