CITY CRACKS DOWN ON 'NUISANCES' AND DRUGS

An increase in "blatant" drug and nuisance behaviours in downtown New
Westminster has prompted the city to take action.

Keith Coueffin, the city's manager of licensing and inspections, said
the city has received complaints about drug and nuisance activities,
as well as homeless camps, in Hyack Square and other areas of the downtown.

"There were some really blatant drug activities that were being
reported," he said. "There was open use of illegal drugs."

Coueffin said the situation was getting "progressively worse" in the
summer months. As a result of complaints, police have been working on
enforcement issues and city staff have been working on initiatives to
make the area more inviting for residents and visitors.

"The police have been focusing their enforcement in that area,"
Coueffin said. "They have been successful in making a number of
arrests for drug activities."

Many of the complaints involved nuisance and drug activities in and
around Hyack Square, which is located at the foot of Eighth Street.

"Private security has been retained to patrol Hyack Square in the
daytime," Coueffin said. "We will be monitoring its effectiveness to
demonstrate whether there has to be any changes."

Concerns have also been raised about drug and nuisance behaviours,
such as an increase in litter and garbage, in other areas of the
downtown. In addition to police enforcement, the city has been
working on crime prevention initiatives that could help address the situation.

"We have observed a significant improvement to the area over the last
week," Coueffin said. "City staff and the police are continuing to
monitor and evaluate the situation and pursue initiatives to improve the area.

"We will be investigating what other activities may be necessary,"
Coueffin said. "We have seen some marked improvement in that area."

A fence has been installed on a property on Eighth Street, which has
helped deter some of the nuisance activities that were occurring on
Alexander Street.

"That was done as an environmental change to deter some of the drug
activities and interfere with the flow of people involved in drug
activity," Coueffin explained. "It was near the SkyTrain station."

Coueffin said the construction that's underway on the Degelder
project, next to the New Westminster SkyTrain station, has led to a
"drastic improvement" to drug activities on that site.

"It has eliminated an area that had from time to time attracted drug
activity," he said. "What we are finding is the number of areas that
have been attractive to people involved in drug activity have been reduced."

Some out-of-the-way spaces on Front Street have also been known to
attract drug activity. "The police are closely monitoring that area
to deal with criminal activity," Coueffin said. "The city is also
looking at options that would improve the situation."