NO QUICK CURE FOR REPEAT OFFENDERS

"Tough love" for drug criminals isn't the answer, says Dr. Gabor
Mate.

"If getting tough on crime worked, America would have no drug
problems," says the doctor who has spent the last 12 years helping
drug addicts in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Instead, he adds, America's jails are full, primarily with people
jailed for drug-related offences.

Canada faces similar struggles with drug-related crime, but Mate says
the biggest problem is public perception when it comes to dealing with
drug addicts and prostitutes.

"They're just nuisances in our eyes," he says. "There's a sense that
they're someone other than us."

But addicts are people with problems, just like us, he says, and
treating addicts and prostitutes as nuisances to be taken off the
streets dehumanizes them.

It can also push the problem into other neighbourhoods, or drivs it
further into the "criminal underground."

"The problem is that in our culture we very much have the attitude of
reacting to problems rather than trying to solve them," he says,
adding it's especially true in communities such as Campbell River.
"One sees it particularly more in smaller communities.it shows up
differently, it's much more of an eyesore, it's more visible to people."

Mate says the way people have reacted in recent years year to problems
with drug addicts and prostitutes in Campbell River proves his point.

In 2007, a group of people fed up with drugs and prostitution in the
Campbellton area followed suspected prostitutes and drug dealers
around with video cameras, then posted the footage to Youtube.

There have also been several meetings held by businesses and
homeowners frustrated with the problem, and the city created a public
safety and crime reduction strategy.

However, problems still remain in the downtown core.

Mate empathizes with merchants tired of break-ins and criminal
activity affecting their businesses, but he believes nothing will
change unless society decides to deal with the causes of criminal
activity, not just its symptoms.

CADAC (Community Alcohol and Drug Action Committee) and CRSEAT
(Campbell River Sexual Exploitation Awareness Team) are bringing Mate
to Campbell River next week.

He will hold two workshops in Campbell River, titled "The human face
of addictions: how to be a caring community."

"We really want to get the community out to hear him," says Denise
Krivokuca, CADAC co-ordinator.

- - Jan. 22, 1-4 p.m. Intended for professionals who work with people
who are addicted. Cost is $50. Held at the community centre.

- - Jan. 22, 7-9 p.m. Open to the public. Admission by donation. Held at
the Timberline school theatre.