POLICE PAN INJECTION SITE
Chief Frederick won’t condone illegal activity
Police will not support opening a safe injection site in Windsor for addicts and “will enforce the law” if local agencies attempt to establish one, Chief Al Frederick said Friday. “Community safety is about everyone’s safety and not just the person abusing the drug,” Frederick said. “I understand the idea of safety, but can’t condone anything that supports criminal behaviour. “We will not turn a blind eye. Until the law of the land changes, I expect officers to do their job.” The Windsor Essex Community Health Centre and AIDS Committee of Windsor have made a joint application to the provincial Ministry of Health to open a temporary safe injection site in downtown Windsor for drug users. Their hope is to get the users away from the streets, alleys and vacant buildings across Windsor.
The application for what’s called an “overdose prevention site” would allow users to inject under supervision.
The goal of opening an overdose prevention site is to cut down on overdoses, dispose of needles properly and make available community connections for those wishing to overcome their drug addictions, said Patrick Brown, executive director for the community health centre.
The proposed location for the site would be part of a building already occupied by Street Health in the 700 block of Pelissier Street. A local addict standing near the proposed Pelissier Street site on Friday said he would use the safe injection service if it was provided. George Montpetit, 33, a user of crystal meth, said he has overdosed in his apartment and watched friends overdose. He has seen others burn themselves badly while attempting to use a blow torch to smoke meth.
“I do meth and marijuana,” he said. “It got me off crack.
“If I had to, I would come here. It’s safer than the streets.” The joint application by the local agencies is one of 16 across Ontario. A ministry decision is not expected until some time after the June 7 provincial election. If approved, it would initially be for a six-month period. Frederick said local police agencies were never consulted before the application was submitted by the two organizations. “That did not happen. Not just police, but neighbourhoods should have been consulted first and allowed to provide input.” Drug addictions create a spinoff industry of criminal behaviour that can include thefts, break and enter, prostitution and dealing the drugs themselves, Frederick said. “There are far broader safety concerns at issue here,” he said. “If the goal is overdose prevention and suicide prevention, I understand that. But the broader context is public safety and I don’t think (safe injection sites) are as effective as people think them to be.” Local police “do have knowledge” of what has happened in other cities such as Vancouver or Toronto where safe injection sites are already in place, Frederick said. “No one has proved to me that safe injection sites have reduced criminal activity, prevented more addictions or suicides,” he said. “I haven’t seen such data, but may be wrong on that.
“It is a complex issue and I’m not minimizing it. But police are at the front end of mental health and addiction issues that plague so many of us in all walks of life.
“We have a role to play and can’t be all things to all people. We are here to enforce the law.” Law enforcement and courts should be the primary tool to get addicts the treatment they need, the chief said.
“What’s being underestimated here is the value of enforcement of law of the land,” he said. “Enforcement and penalties are a deterrent and should be the conduit to other (treatment) programs.” Brown was “disappointed” to learn Friday of Frederick’s stance. “If we receive approval, (injecting drugs) is allowed and it is not illegal to use drugs on site,” he said. “It is not our intention to break the law by any means.
“This is the first time I have heard their official position on this.” Brown was surprised by the chief ’s views since the police forces of Windsor, LaSalle and Amherstburg have all been involved in recent months with developing the community’s opioid strategy. The Windsor area remains one of the highest in the province for opioid prescriptions, while overdoses, emergency room visits and deaths continue to rise, Brown said. “We strongly believe there is a need (for a safe injection site), otherwise we would not have put forward this application,” he said. Mayor Drew Dilkens was in Vancouver a few years ago where he witnessed first-hand addicts congregating around safe injection sites.
“It made you feel like you were in a part of town you did not want to be in,” he said. “The sidewalk was full of people suffering from addiction. They are stumbling on the sidewalk and it looked like another world.”
If such a site is seriously pursued locally, he said it has to be in an area away from any neighbourhoods, such as downtown, where council has “spent considerable resources and funds” in revitalization efforts. “Any implementation of a safe injection site will have a detrimental effect to revitalizing that area,” Dilkens said.
The mayor has been involved in developing a local opioid strategy and said he remains “a long way away ” from supporting safe injection sites in Windsor.
“I feel really bad there are people dying from overdoses,” Dilkens said. “It’s a complex problem nationwide and across North America ... but I think there are a lot of other steps we need to undertake first before we get to considering safe injection sites.”
Noonehas proved to me that safe injection sites have reduced criminal activity, prevented more addictions or suicides.