ILLEGAL HASTINGS DRUG MARKET FINDS NEW LOCATION

An attempt by city cops to disperse the open drug market outside the
Carnegie Centre has simply pushed the scene 50 metres west along Hastings
Street.

For the past decade, a drug market has flourished on the doorstep of the
centre at the corner of Main and Hastings streets, forcing community
members to run a gauntlet of dealers and prostitutes to get inside.

On Nov. 6, however, the Vancouver Police Department began maintaining a
24-hour, seven-day presence outside the community centre, leading to an
immediate, dramatic reduction in illegal activity.

At the time, VPD spokeswoman Sarah Bloor said previous beat policing
methods had failed because people would return as soon as the police were gone.

"This is somewhat akin to stepping in a puddle of water. The water is
momentarily displaced but once you remove your foot the water simply flows
back into the puddle."

In this case, the puddle has simply moved west, to a stretch of sidewalk in
front of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority's Health Contact Centre,
the old Pantages Theatre and the Regent Hotel, currently closed due to
bylaw infractions.

Insp. Bob Rich, who is responsible for implementing the full-time watch
outside the Carnegie Centre, confirmed the drug market remains in the
100-block of East Hastings.

"I am going to do something about it but I have limited resources," said
Rich. "We haven't tried to enlarge the circle of control beyond the
Carnegie but we are going to have to find out how much territory two police
officers can hold."

Rich said the police department is struggling to maintain beat patrols,
answer 911 calls in the area and dismantle pawn brokers, grocery stores and
bars that benefit from the drug economy, and has requested an extra 44 cops
for the area.

More drug treatment facilities and a court system willing to jail
non-violent offenders are crucial to ensuring police have real control over
the drug market in the area, he said.

"Right now, the courts don't see the pimps and drug dealers as violent
offenders. But what they do is so violent, living off the misery of others,
particularly young women," said Rich, who supports a safe injection site in
the area provided the courts prosecute people found using drugs within a
"bubble zone" around the site.

Carnegie Centre director Michael Clague is pleased the open drug market has
shifted from outside his centre. Now he's pushing authorities to open an
overnight sobering centre and increase detox beds to provide a more
permanent solution to the problem.

"The police can't do more than they are," he said. "What's happened at the
corner has significantly benefited Carnegie, but it really hasn't addressed
the problem. We need the system changed, I can't emphasize [enough] the
importance of detox and treatment."

Dana Barnaby, spokesman for the Pantages Preservation Society, said he
noticed last week that the drug market had shifted in front of the theatre,
which the group hopes to restore and open in the new year.

Though he's concerned the drug market could interfere with renovation
efforts, Barnaby insisted dealers and users have never been violent toward him.

"I've been down there three years and if I stand outside the theatre and
start asking people what they're doing, they soon move away without any
problems."