POLICE OFF THE MARK

It'll be interesting to see just how much clout rank-and-file members
of police departments in this country have in affecting whether
Vancouver's Insite remains open and Victoria gets a safe injection
site.

Last week's unanimous vote by members of the Canadian Police
Association was a specific move designed to make the job of police
officers easier, which is why we consider it short-sighted and insular.

While CPA vice-president and Vancouver Police Union president Tom
Stamaktakis contends, in backing up the association's vote, that
things are "worse than they've ever been" on the Downtown East Side,
we feel that he is not looking at the big picture.

Sure, police officers are generally the first ones to face the danger
or be called on to come to the rescue when something goes wrong at
street-level. But saying that the safe injection site in and of
itself is the main cause of the situation worsening is throwing out
the baby with the bath water.

The real problem is with the provincial and federal governments, who
have not seen fit to properly fund the programs intended all along to
accompany the service being provided by Insite. A safe injection site
is just one aspect of the four-pillar approach so lauded by
residents in Vancouver, that being harm reduction.

The other pillars are enforcement - police unions are always calling
for more members on the street - treatment and prevention, all areas
funded by the province. In Victoria's case, a fifth pillar,
specialized housing, is seen to be equally important to the equation
and it is generally funded by the feds.

Interestingly enough, both Victoria Chief Paul Battershill and
Vancouver Chief Jamie Graham have supported the idea of a four-pillar
approach to the drug problems in their cities.

The 40-bed St. John the Divine Church shelter project, funded in
large part by B.C. Housing, is helping with current homelessness
problems in Victoria. Since drug addiction intertwines with
homelessness, this short-term solution may be a first step in
convincing the province - and hopefully the feds, via Health Canada
- - that our city can deal with its street issues effectively.