News (Media Awareness Project) - CN BC: Illegal Injection Sites Could Put Police In A Difficult Position |
| Title: | CN BC: Illegal Injection Sites Could Put Police In A Difficult Position |
| Published On: | 2006-09-01 |
| Source: | Vancouver Sun (CN BC) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-13 04:31:34 |
ILLEGAL INJECTION SITES COULD PUT POLICE IN A DIFFICULT POSITION,
FORMER RANKING OFFICER SAYS
A former high ranking Vancouver police officer predicts illegal drug
injection sites will open if the federal Conservative government
shuts down the city's legal site.
Ken Frail said the illegal sites would then put Vancouver police in a
difficult situation because of police support for Insite at 139 East Hastings.
"It'll put the department in conflict with the community because [the
illegal sites] will need to be shut down," Frail told the Courier.
"We've worked with the community and established contacts that could
be in jeopardy."
The VPD officially supports Insite. Police Chief Jamie Graham wrote
to Health Canada to request the site's operating licence be extended.
The three-year scientific experiment expires Sept. 12. It operates
under an exemption from the country's drug laws.
Frail worked 12 years in the Downtown Eastside and saw first-hand how
the drug problem grew out of control. He was a sergeant in 1989 when
191 people overdosed and died. He's currently working on contract
through the Vancouver Agreement on police projects and housing in the
Downtown Eastside.
Frail also wrote a letter to the prime minister asking him to keep
the site open.
"Closure of the [injection site] will result in increased public drug
consumption, increased overdose deaths and increased harm to the
entire city," Frail wrote.
Frail said that a combination of police enforcement, the work of peer
and user groups and street nurses and the addition of the injection
site have made the open drug market more manageable.
Frail included pointed criticism of the RCMP in his letter. On
Monday, the RCMP announced it opposed extending Insite's operating licence.
"While it may seem natural for the federal government to turn to our
federal police force, I would submit that police officers in
Vancouver have more front line experience with the critical issues
that affect this community where the supervised injection site has
been operating," Frail wrote.
FORMER RANKING OFFICER SAYS
A former high ranking Vancouver police officer predicts illegal drug
injection sites will open if the federal Conservative government
shuts down the city's legal site.
Ken Frail said the illegal sites would then put Vancouver police in a
difficult situation because of police support for Insite at 139 East Hastings.
"It'll put the department in conflict with the community because [the
illegal sites] will need to be shut down," Frail told the Courier.
"We've worked with the community and established contacts that could
be in jeopardy."
The VPD officially supports Insite. Police Chief Jamie Graham wrote
to Health Canada to request the site's operating licence be extended.
The three-year scientific experiment expires Sept. 12. It operates
under an exemption from the country's drug laws.
Frail worked 12 years in the Downtown Eastside and saw first-hand how
the drug problem grew out of control. He was a sergeant in 1989 when
191 people overdosed and died. He's currently working on contract
through the Vancouver Agreement on police projects and housing in the
Downtown Eastside.
Frail also wrote a letter to the prime minister asking him to keep
the site open.
"Closure of the [injection site] will result in increased public drug
consumption, increased overdose deaths and increased harm to the
entire city," Frail wrote.
Frail said that a combination of police enforcement, the work of peer
and user groups and street nurses and the addition of the injection
site have made the open drug market more manageable.
Frail included pointed criticism of the RCMP in his letter. On
Monday, the RCMP announced it opposed extending Insite's operating licence.
"While it may seem natural for the federal government to turn to our
federal police force, I would submit that police officers in
Vancouver have more front line experience with the critical issues
that affect this community where the supervised injection site has
been operating," Frail wrote.
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