SWEEPING AWAY ADDICTS AND THE MENTALLY ILL WON'T CLEAN UP THE CITY

The results of Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan's informal web poll
shouldn't surprise anyone. But some of the mayor's proposed responses
should be surprising, since they'll do little to alleviate the
problem identified.

The problem, in a nutshell, is public disorder. Of the 2,469 people
who answered the poll's questions, 84 per cent believe public
disorder problems in Vancouver have become worse over the past five
years, 82 per cent are very concerned that Vancouver is losing its
international reputation and 67 per cent believe city council must
take immediate action.

When asked which public disorder problems were of concern, 83 per
cent of respondents said aggressive panhandling, 80 per cent
identified public drug use, 71 per cent said sleeping in public parks
and on beaches and 67 per cent noted excessive garbage on streets and
alleyways.

Although the poll has been criticized as unscientific by some, no one
who has lived in Vancouver for any length of time would dispute that
we do have a serious public disorder problem. The disputes occur when
people propose what to do about it.

Sullivan has said he wants to focus harm reduction efforts not just
on drug addicts, but on the community, and to that end he advocates
putting more police on the street and supports a "broken-windows" approach.

Assuming resources are available, placing more police on the street
seems reasonable enough, since the presence of more officers might
help to reduce disorder and aggressive panhandling. But it won't
solve the serious problems Vancouver is facing, and neither will a
broken-windows approach.

Promoted by criminologists George Kelling and James Q. Wilson in
1982, the broken-window theory suggests that people are more likely
to commit crimes if neighbourhoods appear to lack order.

So if broken windows go unrepaired and graffiti is allowed to
flourish, the criminal element feels emboldened to commit ever more
serious crimes. In contrast, if neighbourhoods are kept in good
order, criminal behaviour will subside, at least in those neighbourhoods.

Although the broken-windows theory received much fanfare after former
mayor Rudy Giuliani supposedly used it to clean up the streets of New
York City, many criminologists are now skeptical of its efficacy.

We should be even more skeptical in Vancouver, since our primary
problems are not with broken windows or graffiti but drug addiction
and mental illness. There's no way we'll solve these problems by
sweeping addicts and the mentally ill off the street, the way we
might sweep the excess garbage in our alleyways.

On the contrary, there's no quick fix for solving the problems of
drug addiction and mental illness, but there are things we can do to
make a difference in the long term. Despite the federal government's
hostility toward the supervised injection site, the evidence in
favour of Insite's ability to reduce public disorder continues to
mount. The latest study on its beneficial effects appeared in the
Canadian Medical Association Journal on Tuesday.

Insite is, of course, not enough by itself: It can't possibly meet
demand, which is why the evaluators at the B.C. Centre for Excellence
in HIV/AIDS have recommended expanding the number of supervised
injection sites.

Although the site appears to aid people in entering treatment, it
will be useless unless treatment is available, which is why the
evaluators also recommended combining the site with treatment
facilities and supportive housing.

Housing for the mentally ill should also be a priority, and while
some supportive housing units have been added, they once again fail
to meet demand. Until such support is available, we can't possibly
hope to get a handle on public disorder.

Reducing harm to the community and reducing harm to the addicted and
the mentally ill are not two separate things. Whether we like it or
not, people with substance use and psychiatric problems are a part of
the community, and it is only by helping them that we can help
ourselves. It's not a quick fix, but it's the only fix that will work
in the long run.