THE ADDICTION OF VIOLENCE

It certainly isn't the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.

But the Tranquille Road area of the North Shore of Kamloops is
definitely a dicey neighbourhood.

A week ago today, KTW ran a front-page story that looked into the rash
of violent crime that has permeated the area in and around the
200-block of Tranquille Road.

The story quoted the concerns of residents and business owners in the
area following stabbings and hit and runs and drug-related assaults
had left the neighbourhood's sidewalks awash in blood and air shrill
with the sirens of RCMP patrol cars.

Three days after the KTW article was published, Ben Beach sat on Royal
Avenue in the middle of the night, cradling the body of 21-year-old
Devin Prince as life oozed from his body.

Prince had been stabbed to death, and a 46-year-old resident of the
area has been arrested and charged with murder.

Just another night on the North Shore?

Not exactly.

As local Mounties have noted, the spate of violence is not easily
explained, but is not indicative of a neighbourhood lost to the
ravages of addiction and the criminal acts that accompany the affliction.

We would add the word "yet" to that assessment.

The area has not been lost to the dark side -- yet.

The police have already targeted prostitutes and their clients by
establishing a controversial "red zone" in the area.

Following Saturday's stabbing death -- the latest in string of crazy
attacks -- Mounties have vowed to beef up their presence.

Enforcement is key, of course, but unless the root cause of the
violence is addressed, these flare-ups of human mayhem will continue
in cycles in perpetuity.

At issue is drug addiction, pure and simple.

How that is addressed is crucial in whether areas like Tranquille
recover or regress.

The status quo -- the so-called war on drugs -- is not the answer, as
is so obvious lo these many years.

But is legalization the cure? Far more detox and rehab spaces?
Preventive measures such as intense education aimed at kids in grade
school?

The answers may be found in one or some or none of these ideas.

But something needs to be done lest we plan on reading about many more
Devin Princes dying in our community.