RECLAIMING OUR STREETS

HEROIN is a curse that has brought misery and despair to many
thousands of Victorian families.

Police fight a never-ending battle to control the spread of the drug
among vulnerable people.

The Herald Sun yesterday revealed a new plan to curb rampant heroin
dealing in the inner-western suburbs.

The area surrounding Footscray has long been blighted by pushers
brazenly selling their wares to desperate addicts.

The plan will see users and dealers banned from certain areas,
risking jail if they enter the forbidden zones.

It covers Footscray, Braybrook, Yarraville, Maidstone, Tottenham,
Seddon, Kingsville, West Footscray and Maribyrnong, and could be
extended to other suburbs if successful.

Civil libertarians might blanch at the thought of restricting freedom
of movement but it is a small price to pay if we can save lives and
reduce crime.

The people of the western suburbs, who have had to put up with
pushers on their street corners for too long, are ecstatic with the plan.

Hopefully they will be now be able to reclaim their neighbourhoods
for families and children, instead of being forced to share them with
drugs and despair.