DEALERS TURNING BUTE INTO DRUG 'BOUTIQUE'

The VPD's drug dragnet through the streets of the Downtown Eastside has
displaced pushers and addicts to the West End, according to
Vancouver-Burrard MLA Lorne Mayencourt.

Drug dealing has become so brazen at the corner of Bute and Davie Streets
that residents now refer to the intersection as the "Bute Street Boutique."

There's been an ongoing problem in the neighbourhood with crystal meth
dealers but "now we're having a problem with crack dealers," Mayencourt
told the WestEnder.

"There's been some displacement from the Downtown Eastside. Drug
traffickers are going to other places."

Constituents have phoned the Liberal MLA saying they're fed up with the
increasing number of sidewalk dealers. Seniors and young families have
voiced the most concern, said Mayencourt. "Seniors are changing their plans
to shop and walk in the neighbourhood because they don't feel safe."

One mother complained that she was concerned about her daughter attending
Lord Robert Annex elementary school because of the growing number of
pushers and hypes loitering around Nelson Park.

Although merchants seem reluctant to discuss the problem of drug peddling
in the neighbourhood, one Bute Street business owner, speaking on the
agreement of anonymity, said she applaud the recent police efforts to rid
the area of drug dealers. "The presence of the police is helping a lot.
It's been much better."

Vancouver police are apparently attempting to deal with the export of drugs
and crime from the Downtown Eastside to other neighbourhoods. Last week,
"Project Boomerang," a three-week undercover drug sting, resulted in 60
drug-related charges laid against 42 individuals, most of whom worked the
Granville mall area.

"We hope they don't come back," says Vancouver police Det. Dave Jones,
commander of District 1, noting that the operation included undercover work
in the Seymour-Georgia area.

Surprisingly, only 16 per cent the Granville strip dealers charged by
police--32 men, 10 female, ranging in age from 16 to 68--hailed from the
Downtown Eastside, which indicates that "displacement" has been minimal.

Jones, however, was surprised that many of the dealers were selling crack
cocaine. "It appears that crack has hit the Granville mall in a big way,"
he explained.

Many dealers in the Granville mall area, once known as a mecca for meth,
have switched to rock cocaine, a more expensive drug with a fleeting high.
Jones speculates that the dealers have changed product for "pure profit."

Crystal meth costs around $5 and lasts between eight and 12 hours; an
eight-dollar crack high lasts just 20 minutes.

The 800-block of Granville, however, was more active for the sale of pot.

Undercover cops witnessed a number of what Jones refers to as "drug
tourists": buyers from the Downtown Eastside who traveled to the Granville
mall strip to score drugs.

"Hopefully they have their return flights booked," he said.

Jones noted there was some evidence of drug-dealer migration to the
Seymour-Georgia area.

The West End isn't the only community feeling the ripple effect of the
policing efforts on the Downtown Eastside. Drug addicts from the area are
also emigrating to tony West Vancouver. According to police there, drug
addicts are riding bicycles or driving stolen cars over the Lions Gate
Bridge to commit crime to feed their addictions.

"It's hard to attribute all the crime to that displacement (in the Downtown
Eastside)," said West Van police Sgt. Bob Fontaine, "but we have witnessed
an increase in the number of auto thefts and break-and-enters."

Although Mayencourt doesn't oppose the drug crackdown on the streets of the
Downtown Eastside, he believes the police need to understand that the new
enforcement model has forced drugs and associated crime to "ripple out to
other communities we need resources to deal with enforcement issues here."

VPD Const. Sarah Bloor says police will remain vigilant to "make sure we
don't have these people migrating to other areas."