IN THE CITY: COPS KEEPING DEALERS MOVING

Vancouver Police Department Insp. Bob Rich calls it the "Seinfeld approach"
to policing.

"It's about doing nothing but it works."

In November, the VPD began deploying a minimum of two officers to the
corner of Main and Hastings, near the Carnegie community centre--24 hours a
day, seven days a week--to deter the open use and trafficking of crack and
heroin at the city's most notorious open drug markets.

In the past, more traditional methods such as beat patrols and undercover
operations have had only short-term success in breaking up the open drug
scene at Main and Hastings. So far, the 24/7 police presence has worked.
Today, the 100 or so regulars that used to loiter around the corner have
decamped, making the Carnegie centre once again accessible to the community.

"There are people going back to the Carnegie centre who haven't been there
since they were children," Rich says.

Although the "Seinfeld approach"--a term coined by VPD member Clive
Milligan --has cleaned up the corner, there was nothing funny about sitting
in a squad car sipping coffee waiting for nothing to happen. To mitigate
boredom, officers were rotated every two hours or so. If a bust was made
while on patrol, officers waited until they were spelled off before doing
the paperwork, maintaining a non-stop police presence. Adds Rich, "It was
the epicentre of the open drug market. Now that it's broken up dealers are
more vulnerable to arrest."

Police have suspended the Seinfeld approach for now, and Rich admits
24-hour policing won't solve the drug epidemic in the hardscrabble Downtown
Eastside but feels it will be an important complement to the city's Four
Pillar Approach to Vancouver's drug problem.

When police started the 24/7 enforcement tactic at Main and Hastings they
were under no illusions the drug trade would be completely eradicated.

The strategy is to monitor the movement--many dealers now congregate around
Columbia and Hastings--while still maintaining a consistent police presence
at Main and Hastings. The goal: regain a corner, hold onto it, and reclaim
the next corner.

The movement of the drug dealers does, however, have some local business
owners concerned crime will migrate to their neighbourhoods.

"We have seen an increase in B&Es and basically I would suggest that is
from the displacement on Main Street," says Gastown Business Improvement
Society executive director Leanore Sali. "That's the feedback I'm getting
from our members." Those in the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement
Association have also reported increased property crime.

"If that's actually what's happening (displacement), we're just moving the
problem from one area to another," said Charles Gauthier, executive
director of the DVBIA. "That raises some real concerns for us. Members are
reporting increased property crime and drug dealing."

Police believe spiked crime stats are the result of "other factors" like
the unrelated relocation of drug dealers and prostitutes to the West End
because of its abundance of all-night businesses.

The VPD are committed to continuing their highly successful 24/7 tactic. In
order to do so, Rich will eventually need more men and women in black. It
takes the equivalent of 12 full-time officers just to patrol the Carnegie
area 24/7. In March, the VPD will present a report to city council on the
project and Rich hopes the results will justify more manpower.

"We want to ramp it up."