MAIN & HASTINGS PATROLS CURB DEALING

Thanks to the presence of two uniformed police officers 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, the corner of Main and Hastings in Vancouver's
Downtown Eastside has gone from notorious to neighbourly in just three
weeks.

The busy intersection, which Vancouver police Insp. Bob Rich called
"the worst corner in the country," was besot by drug dealers and
junkies, and the police put it high on their priority list.

"It was the epicentre of the open drug market for the Lower Mainland,"
said Rich of the reason two officers were posted there full-time. "Any
person knew they could score at Main and Hastings 24 hours a day. It
was the most active corner as a drug market in North America."

Since starting the pilot project on Nov. 6, Rich and the officers
standing guard have said they're getting nothing but positive
feedback. "We have people saying for the first time in years they're
now able to bring their kids to the Carnegie," said Rich.

Even as police tried to curtail the flow of drugs at Main and Hastings
and with more than 600 drug-dealing arrests last year in that area,
Rich said the police felt they were losing the battle. "Despite all
the efforts of the drug squad, it was still a chaotic disaster as far
as an open drug market," said Rich. "We felt this was the worst corner
and . . . we had to do something so we said let's start here."

While Rich and his department colleagues realize they have a long way
to go to get the drug problem in that area under control, they feel
that taking the most active corner away from pushers is a step in the
right direction. "You're disrupting their activity," said Rich. "He
waits for you to leave and you don't leave."

And with the proper staff, Rich said this could be a model they'd like
to use for other high-crime corners if more funding becomes available.

Dan Tetrault, the assistant director of the Carnegie Community Centre
that had the drug trade going on right in front of its steps, said
"there's been a very noticeable change" since the two officers began
their vigil.

"We're seeing people that haven't been coming to the building for a
long time," Tetrault said.