POLICE KEEPING PRESSURE ON MEAN STREETS INTO AUGUST

A controversial police crackdown on drug dealers in the Downtown Eastside
that began April 7 will be extended into August, says the head of the
police's city-wide enforcement team.

The crackdown was originally supposed to run until early July, and then
continue indefinitely with a much smaller police presence than the 60-cop
team currently working the drug-plagued community.

But Insp. Doug LePard said police will use money from its overtime budget
and keep 60 cops on the streets to ensure the streets remain safe, and that
the Downtown Eastside doesn't return to the drug-fueled mayhem.

"We're pleased with the fact that we've greatly improved the street scene
there," LePard said. "It's obvious for anybody to see that things are much
more orderly. We've had incredibly positive feedback from the community in
terms of how they feel about their streets being safer."

Insp. Bob Rich, police commander of the Downtown Eastside, said overtime
costs could reach $300,000 or more but a figure hasn't been finalized. Rich
noted the police's overtime budget will not allow police to keep 60 cops on
the streets beyond August.

"To do this for one month, is stretching it," he said.

In April, city council rejected the police's request for $2.3 million in
overtime costs to extend the 60-cop team's work until the end of the year.
However, police are preparing a two-month evaluation of the project to go
before city council early next month.

Rich said part of the reason for extending the crackdown into August is to
ensure the team is already in place-in case council reconsiders the
importance of the project and allocates funding to it.

"If we were to meet council in June and not have a plan to survive the
month of July, we can't react that quickly with our people," said Rich,
noting officers are usually given 30 days notice of where and when they'll
be working. "Our people need to plan their lives well in advance."

The extra month will also allow police, the city and Vancouver Coastal
Health Authority to search for a research firm to conduct an independent
evaluation of the crackdown. Cost of the evaluation isn't clear but money
is expected to come through the city or the Vancouver Agreement, Rich said.

"I don't expect anybody to believe one side of a story in a complex matter
like this," he said. "There needs to be somebody who can provide some
independent information for council to consider because they're hearing a
lot of different voices-some saying this is a good idea, some saying this
is a bad idea."

Although the Pivot Legal Society agrees there should be an independent
evaluation, it believes an extended crackdown will only drive addicts
further underground. The Legal Society, which represents marginalized
people, said addicts have been scared away from needle exchanges, forcing
them to share syringes, which could lead to an increase in HIV/AIDS cases.

"Our concern is that a lot of what the police are hearing at the street
level, is not what we are hearing from people who are hiding in their
rooms," said Katrina Pacey of Pivot, which advocates supervised injection
sites and treatment centres.

Meanwhile, business owners, Chinese leaders in Chinatown and residents
interviewed by the Courier over the past two months say they are happy with
the crackdown. A popular spot to inject drugs-Andy Livingstone Park,
between GM Place and Chinatown-has also seen a decrease in drug activity,
said Paul Devitt, a park attendant.

"We lost count of the number of needles we used to pick up here," said
Devitt, while he made his rounds Friday morning. "Now I can tell you we
might pick up about 20 a day. The police presence has been good."