HALFWAY HOUSES CLOSING

Provincial halfway houses and support programs for some drug-addicted
criminals in the Lower Mainland have been terminated so scarce
government dollars can be used to control high-risk, violent
offenders, the government confirmed Thursday.

The cancelled programs, while valuable, were underused and serving
only a small number of low-risk offenders who commit mainly thefts and
break-and-enters, said Chris Beresford, a spokesman for the
attorney-general's ministry.

The programs involve three halfway houses in Surrey, operated by the
Phoenix drug and alcohol recovery education society, providing 28 beds
in total.

Also affected is the Salvation Army's Opportunities for Change program
in Langley and New Westminster, which offers counselling and day
programs for a maximum of 50 people.

One of the halfway houses has already closed. The other programs are
slated to end in November and December.

"Let's be clear, these are good programs. This isn't being done
because it's something we want to do," said Beresford.

"But if we have to make program choices, we have to make them based on
public safety, and that says put the dollars first into the higher
risk offenders. And unfortunately, in this case, the funding is not
there to continue with these programs."

Liberal MLA Geoff Plant, who brought the matter to public attention
Thursday after obtaining a leaked Oct. 14 government e-mail outlining
the changes, said the decision will put homeowners and neighbourhoods
at risk.

"This means we are going to see dozens of convicts dumped onto the
Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and into New Westminster, Surrey and
other towns where they will start their cycle of crime all over again."

A criminologist and the companies that had government contracts to
provide the services said the decision is short-sighted and will do
nothing to break the cycle between substance abuse and crime.

"This type of offender, without any form of support services, tends to
go back to abusing substances. Once he does that, . . . he goes back
to a life of crime," said Greg Jackson of the Salvation Army.

Criminologist Neil Boyd of Simon Fraser University, noting that
substance abuse is a serious problem in Greater Vancouver, said the
move is not an effective long-term strategy for crime prevention.

"Many of these people, who initially commit so-called less serious
crimes may ultimately graduate to more serious crimes."

He recalled that serial killer Clifford Olson was once considered only
a petty criminal. "I don't think that individuals involved in criminal
activity pick up one type of crime and stick to it for their
lifetime," Boyd said.

Last year, the NDP government was sufficiently excited about the
programs to announce an expansion of the program.

But Beresford said only 60 to 75 per cent of the beds were occupied at
any one time and the Salvation Army day program was less than half
full. "There was thought to be a need and these programs would come in
and fill that. But that hasn't happened."

Corrections branch spokesman Bill Young said the programs are not the
intensive detox and rehabilitation ones often talked about in the
Downtown Eastside.

He said the residences aren't like the halfway houses operated by the
John Howard Society, which serve as a transition from federal prisons
to the community. Many offenders in the provincial programs are
already in the community on electronic monitoring before entering the
programs.

Michael Wilson of the Phoenix Society is appealing to government to
reconsider its decision, saying the programs help down-and-out
offenders in many important ways -- offering basics such as shelter,
clothing and identification and graduating to counselling, addiction
education and employment skills.

"The programs addressed the kinds of needs that have been linked to
re-offending behaviour."

Wilson disputed Beresford's figures, saying most beds have been full
in recent months. And he said the program is far cheaper than
warehousing repeat offenders in jails.

But Beresford said the government will have an additional $400,000 in
the remainder of this fiscal year to spend on the province's worst
offenders -- people such as long-term offender John Sebela, who has
been isolated and placed under 24-hour supervision.

"It's not that John Sebela is driving this decision," he added. "But
it's people such as him -- the very visible, high-risk offender that
needs intensive supervision. That's really where the dollars have to
go."

Asked why the government didn't announce the change, Beresford said he
didn't think it was significant enough to warrant a news release
because it affects only the contractors and about 50 offenders.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry