RESIDENTS PLEAD FOR SAFE-INJECTION SITES

Calls for a safe-injection site were heard at city council this week after
residents of a downtown townhouse complex complained about a series of
attempted break-ins and alleyway drug use in their neighbourhood.

"A safe-injection site would be a good thing," said Kerri Carl. "These
people need a safe site to shoot up."

Carl lives at Westview Village in the 100-block of Nicola Street. Just up
the block, at the intersection of First Avenue and Columbia Street, is an
apartment building, which is a "a disgrace to the downtown core," the
owners of Westview Village wrote in a letter to council.

"As a direct result of the clientele living in the apartment, our
neighbourhood is becoming increasingly unsafe and the crime activities are
at an all-time high," the letter states.

To deal with the issue, Westview owners asked council to improve lighting
in the alley behind Westview Village and to consider a safe-injection site
for the city.

Carl said a safe-injection site "doesn't have to be in any specific part of
the city."

Council decided to forward the matter to Pete Backus, Kamloops' crime
prevention officer.