POLICE CRACKDOWN IMPROVES BUSINESS

Downtown Eastside Stores Say Police Stifle Crime, But It Moves Back In As
Soon As The Officers Move On

Walking through a dense crowd of drug dealers offering "hard stuff" at the
corner of Hastings and Columbia, it's difficult to discern the police
crackdown that covers the Downtown Eastside, Chinatown and Gastown.

Still, struggling Downtown Eastside businesses are seeing some benefits
from the two-month-old initiative.

Most agree that the police presence discourages illegal behaviour around
their stores, but they added that it does not do enough.

As a drug deal went on outside her store window, Washington Community Foods
manager Donna Roy said dealers had been "swarming" around her store that
morning.

"Most of my customers are old age pensioners. They're afraid to come out
here," Roy said, adding that drug dealers will often block the store's
doorway to sell drugs. "As long as they have the police out there, things
are good, but as soon as they leave things go back to they way they were."

Charlie Kwon, owner of Payless Meats at Powell and Jackson, said that he
has noticed some improvement in business since the crackdown began but
nothing measurable. He still refuses to repair broken windows because the
effort is no longer worth the cost.

And even pawnshops support more police protection.

"They need to do it sooner or later, or else the businesses will start
leaving," said Ben Thai, an employee with Jimmy's Discount Store at
Hastings and Columbia.

As police officers walk by with two men in tow, Thai shook his head and
said that the two would be back in days.

"It's like they need to come in here and put one person on each street
corner," he said.

One business, however, complained that the police crackdown has hurt sales
and increased crime.

New Brandz Fast Food Outlet owner George Nevelle said he has lost one-third
of his business since the crackdown began because many of his drug-using
customers are afraid to go out on the street any more.

This may speak of the success of the police initiative, but Nevelle --
spouting a minority view -- said that the street is now less safe than before.

"These people are harmless . . .I haven't seen any danger," Nevelle said.

According to Nevelle, the absence of local users has allowed other criminal
elements to come in from outside the area.

In Gastown, Bambocaf=C8 manager Azar Naj has noticed the larger police
presence and the improvement, she gushed, is remarkable.

"Last year, it was a bit of a mess," said Naj, who complained of storefront
windows being broken on numerous occasions.

As for Chinatown, the reports on the crackdown are mixed. Many businesses
were happy with the enhanced police presence, but one employee at Sungrow
Herbal said that the results are not all positive.

Tommy Wong said that since the crackdown, more drug dealers have appeared
on East Pender Street in front of his store and more customers are
complaining to him about car break-ins. The increased problems could result
from criminals and drug dealers moving away from the more heavily patrolled
Hastings Street, a concern expressed by businesses in other parts of
downtown, including the West End.

Downtown Business Improvement Association's executive director Charles
Gauthier said he's hearing many concerns that crime has merely moved to
other areas.

"Businesses are seeing drug dealing and using activity where they didn't
see it before," said Gauthier, calling it very disconcerting.

"For a small neighbourhood that has never had it before, one [dealer] is
too many."

In a letter to Vancouver city council, Fairmont Hotels' regional
vice-president and general manager Patrick Kelly wrote: "There has been an
alarming increase in the number of vehicle and property break-ins...within
the downtown business district." Kelly was unavailable for additional
comment, but in his letter he said local businesses are "virtually under
siege," and that the police need to increase patrols in the downtown area.

If the crackdown initiative proves successful in its first three months,
Mayor Larry Campbell has agreed to continue to fund the increased patrols.

Vancouver police spokesperson Sarah Bloor said the response from the local
business and community has been extremely positive, and that the police
have filed 109 criminal charges since the crackdown started.

The anticipated problem of "displacement" has been less than expected, she
added.