ADDICTS JUST REGULAR PEOPLE, SAY STUDENT INTERVIEWERS

Two 24-year-old Simon Fraser University criminology students insist they
still want to be Vancouver cops, after spending three weeks in the Downtown
Eastside interviewing 100 drug addicts.

In fact, both Gareth Bradley and Jennifer Parks would like to be posted in
the country's poorest neighbourhood-that's if they get accepted to the
police department and pass the necessary training.

Their enthusiasm, however, wasn't always this great.

Both used to see the Downtown Eastside as a "crazy" and "scary" place, but
that changed once they began interviewing addicts for a term paper on
attitudes of illicit drug users on the Downtown Eastside.

"We found they're like everyday people-they just happen to have a drug
addiction," said Bradley, who lives in Coquitlam. "I'd like to be able to
go back there and see if I can help make a difference."

Parks agrees, but admits to being scared the first day she and Gareth
embarked on their survey campaign, even though they were accompanied by a
plainclothes cop. Parks said the three-week project was a "surreal" experience.

Among the 100 addicts-who were openly using drugs during the interviews-the
fourth-year students met musicians, electricians, people with university
degrees and one man who claimed to be a financial advisor and enjoyed the
occasional heroin binge.

The survey asked questions on drug use, including drug preference, cost of
their daily drug habits, how they support their habits, personal safety,
treatment and-"If you were the police chief, what would you do to clean up
the Downtown Eastside?"

Twenty-one percent of addicts suggesting adding more police on the street,
while just under 20 per cent called for more and better drug treatment and
the need for supervised injection sites. Their answers were released
Monday, the same day as the official launch of a controversial three-month
crackdown on drug dealers in the Downtown Eastside.

Community AIDS groups, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and the
Pivot Legal Society oppose the presence of 60 cops, saying it will push
addicts away from needle exchanges and exacerbate an already serious health
problem on the streets.

Bradley and Parks are aware of the protests, but believe the city should
focus on a combination of enforcement and treatment to rid the community of
drug dealers and get help for addicts.

"We're not experts, but I think it's a great place to start, at least,"
said Parks, who lives in Vancouver. "It's better than doing nothing, and
letting the situation further decay."

They both support supervised injection sites, but say they are only part of
the puzzle, pointing to their finding that 59 per cent of addicts would
participate in treatment if it was available.

Sixty-six per cent of addicts also made it clear that treatment facilities
should be located outside Vancouver-away from the easy access to drugs,
stolen merchandise and addicted friends.

"Without proper treatment, these individuals will probably continue to use
drugs and perpetuate the negative cycle in the Downtown Eastside," the
students concluded in their report.

Other findings in the report:

* Of the 100 addicts, 60 per cent were male (aged 18 to 54) and 40 per cent
were female (aged 22 to 65). Sixty-two per cent lived in the Downtown
Eastside, while 38 per cent lived elsewhere in Vancouver or outside the city.

* Seventy-six per cent had a criminal record, but 54 per cent have no fear
of going to jail.

* Eighty-seven per cent were openly using crack cocaine at the time of the
survey, while 13 per cent were openly injecting heroin or cocaine.

* Sixty per cent admitted to using crack cocaine on a regular basis, while
40 per cent admitted to using heroin on a regular basis.

* Heroin addicts spend an average of $222 a day, while crack cocaine
addicts spent $90.

* Sixty-seven per cent admitted to funding their addiction through either
illegitimate or illegal activities, including selling drugs, committing
property crimes, panhandling and the sex trade.

Bradley and Parks, however, note that number is likely low because of
addicts not wanting to admit all their criminal activities. For example,
one addict claimed he did not steal to fund his addiction, but was found a
few days later with more than $400 of stolen merchandise from an Eddie
Bauer clothing store.