NEW WEST DRUG BLITZ PROVES A DUD

Officials admit they have failed to stem the tide of crack cocaine into the
city.

Six months after New Westminster launched a highly-publicized series of
police blitzes on the downtown street scene, drug dealing is more rampant
than ever, according to community groups that monitor situation.

And city officials and police admit they have failed to stem the tide of
crack cocaine that is flooding into the city through dealers operating on
Columbia Street.

``The situation is becoming unbearable in the downtown area,'' Mayor Helen
Sparkes said Tuesday. ``The drug dealers [are acting as if they] own the
streets.''

Ron Stevens, an advocate for low-income residents who has often criticized
city council for being too harsh with street people, agreed the situation
is deteriorating.

`` It's more like a crack up than a crackdown.,'' said Stevens, a member of
the Out Reach Action Group. ``As soon as it gets dark, you can find 25
people selling drugs in a two-block stretch. Everyone is asking if you want
to buy.''

He said -- and Sparkes agreed -- that the number of dealers has actually
increased since the police sweeps began.

As in Vancouver, a disproportionate number of the dealers seem to be
Honduran nationals, some in Canada as refugee applicants and others illegally.

Police Corporal Denny Crosato estimated 60 per cent of the dealers are
Honduran.

``You see some of the younger kids being used as couriers, it's tragic,''
Crosato said.

He said New Westminster police are working with immigration officials to
try to identify the illegal aliens and deport them.

The most recent blitz ended at the weekend with a total of 29 arrests.

``Our guys are making a lot of arrests, but it's an endless cycle,''
Crosato said.

Crack cocaine currently sells on Columbia Street for $10 per ``rock'' -- a
small chunk enough for up to three hits, each high lasting at the most a
few minutes. Confirmed crack users often use the drug more than a dozen
times a day.

``If you have $700 in your pocket, you'll leave that street with zero,''
Stevens said. ``I've seen all ages buying -- from kids to old men and old
ladies.''

Sparkes said the city will spend an extra $150,000 between now and the end
of the year to pay for overtime and other costs associated with the
continuing police blitzes.

She said the police are doing the best they can, but they are frustrated
because people charged with drug offences pass through the court system so
rapidly and return to the street to continue dealing, often ignoring
court-imposed area restrictions from previous charges.

She also acknowledged the police are getting stressed out having to work
the extra shifts under tough conditions -- and the police approach doesn't
even deal with the demand side of the problem, anyway..

``Yes, they [dealers] are selling, but people are buying,'' she said.

She said the only long-term solution is to vastly increase the number of
rehab programs -- from detoxes to residential treatment and job counselling
programs -- to help wean injection drug users off their habits.

Currently, there are only a handful of detox beds in the Lower Mainland,
and rehab workers routinely complain there is no place to send addicts who
want treatment.,

New West city officials are preparing a proposal on behalf of 29 local
governments in the Lower Mainland to solicit $1.4 million from Ottawa to
draw up a coordinated regional drug strategy.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski