MAYOR SAYS EXTRA COPS WON'T CLEAN UP HASTINGS DRUG MARKET

The Vancouver police department won't be getting 44 new cops to patrol the
Downtown Eastside because it has not demonstrated that more police will
solve the open-air drug problem, says Mayor Larry Campbell.

Campbell rejected the idea that a "huge number of uniformed members" will
act as a deterrent, calling for a new strategy that doesn't involve
displacing the drug problem from one area of the city to another.

Last fall, police set up a permanent presence in the open-air drug market
at the corner of Main and Hastings, pushing drug dealers and addicts west
along Hastings.

"We cannot simply push this a half a block in either direction," said the
mayor.

Campbell's comments come a few days before the police department pitches
its request March 12 for the 44 cops, which would cost about $4.4 million a
year, plus an undetermined amount for start-up costs.

Insp. Bob Rich, who commands the Downtown Eastside, described Campbell's
comments as "interesting," but wouldn't say whether future plans for
enforcement in the problem area would be affected.

Though Campbell-who has vowed not to increase taxes over the next three
years-has only one vote on the 11-member council, the former Mountie's
views are significant, since he chairs the police board.

"He's certainly entitled to his opinion, obviously," said Rich, who was one
of the finalists, along with Campbell, for the top police job last year.
"But we do believe we need more police resources in order to end the open
drug market-and in order to provide order on the streets so supervised
injection sites can be successful."

Rich noted other cities, such as Frankfurt, added up to 400 cops to
coincide with the opening of injection sites. In Vancouver, Rich and other
cops have estimated the entire city is 200 cops short.

"We have said to council we'll be coming for an increase in staffing year
by year because we are too small," he said. "Council's job-and I really
respect that-is to determine the level of police service they want to have
in their city. That is their role; that is why the citizens of Vancouver
elected them."

Last Wednesday, the Courier revealed the police department is re-deploying
more than 40 cops from various departments, including community policing
offices, to create a city-wide enforcement team to tackle problem crime areas.

The team, which will operate for at least three months, will likely begin
its work in the Downtown Eastside on April 7-around the same time council
makes its final decision on funding requests. If funding was made available
for 44 more cops, Rich said police wouldn't have to pull resources from
other departments.

"One is a short-term strategy, because we have to deal with this now, and
the other is a long-term strategy," he said.

Meanwhile, Campbell continues to tell reporters the Downtown Eastside will
be open for legitimate business again before his three-year term is
finished. With the city's purchase of the Four Corners Bank and the
Woodward's building on Hastings, he and his council believe they're on the
way to providing housing and attracting new retail businesses.

"Somehow, we've allowed this situation to develop-the police, the
politicians and the citizens, and I include myself in that. We all allowed
this to happen. We just didn't wake up one day and 'boom,' we had an
open-air drug market."

But many cops have said as long as the concentration of pawn shops, cheap
food places and pubs-which openly allow the selling of stolen
merchandise-continues, the area will be dominated by illegal activity.