SURREY ENDORSES DRUG PLAN

Policy Stresses Education And Prevention Over Treatment And Enforcement

Surrey has adopted a four-pillar approach to the city's drug problems.

Monday, council approved the Drug-Crime Task Force Policy Paper, a document
which will likely be folded into a larger social plan to become a key
document in Surrey's substance abuse strategy.

The policy paper recommends a four-pronged approach, including prevention,
education, treatment and enforcement.

Unlike Vancouver's "four-pillar" approach, Surrey's plan does not include
harm reduction, such as safe injection sites. Instead it stresses education
and prevention for youth.

Recommendations include:

Prevention and education

* Create a multi-faceted resource centre for at-risk youth; * Increase the
number of prevention and outreach workers at schools; * Increase programs
that focus on children up to six years old; * Increase substance use
education and prevention techniques that promote parental involvement; *
Create a strategic district-wide prevention, education and enforcement
program for the School District; * Use several languages on information
brochures to get the message to ethnic communities.

Treatment

* Develop and expand youth detox services here; * Create an intensive
residential treatment centre for youth; * Properly monitor recovery houses
in Surrey.

Enforcement

* Expand Vancouver's pilot drug treatment court to Surrey and include a
youth component; * Ensure safety of people living near grow ops and
methamphetamine labs; * Target a percentage of proceeds of crime to
substance abuse programs; * Allow use of drug-sniffing dogs in schools.

City council was encouraged to see the paper targets youth.

"The task force focuses on children and families, and that's what Surrey is
all about," Coun. Marvin Hunt said, noting there are more recommendations
on prevention and education than enforcement and treatment, which he
considers appropriate.

Coun. Gary Tymoschuk sees the report as part of a larger social services
plan, which the mayor called for last week.

However, Tymoschuk had concerns over recommendations made by the paper
involving other areas of government.

"The report also outlines recommendations specifically for the school
board. Obviously any level of government has to be cognizant of telling
another level what to do," he said.

Coun. Penny Priddy also had concerns.

"I congratulate people who've done the report, I congratulate the work
that's gone into it, but I think it has some critical shortfalls," said
Priddy, who believes more studies need to be examined around results
associated with some of the projects.

Priddy said there should be an "oversight" group to ensure the document
isn't merely shelved, and she opposes use of drug dogs in schools.

Coun. Dianne Watts, chair of the city's drug crime task force, said a dog
in a school is a lot more innocuous "than a locker full of methamphetamines."

The decision about using drug dogs will remain with Surrey school board.

Mayor Doug McCallum supports the findings of the Drug-Crime Task Force and
plans to fold them into a larger social plan he called for last week.

"It's a good report," McCallum said.

"I like the concentration on youth. We need to do something about this, we
are a city of families."