Pubdate: Wed, 06 Aug 2003 Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC) Copyright: 2003 Prince George Citizen Contact: http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350 Author: Karen Kwan BYLAW OFFICERS REMOVING DIRTY NEEDLES City bylaw officers have plucked "hundreds" of dirty needles from downtown alleys and vacant lots while patrolling streets under a pilot project to improve safety, says the city's bylaw manager. During the past month, pairs of officers have done daily sweeps of the downtown core, finding pockets of used needles around Third Avenue and George Street, Ken Craig said. "Probably what happens is people might get needles (from the needle exchange on Third Avenue) and go a block away in the alley and do whatever they do and throw the old needle away," he said. "It's dangerous, there's no doubt about that." Instead of responding to complaints, Craig said the pilot project has bylaw officers, who have recently been trained to dispose of needles safely, on foot trying to uncover problems. The campaign comes under the city-led Partners for a Healthy Downtown (PHD) initiative, which was established in March to improve the city's safety image. Representatives from the RCMP, downtown business groups, and social service agencies are also involved. Bylaw officers are also on the lookout for other safety or social problems, Craig said, such as graffiti, garbage on streets and drunken loiterers, and are making contact with business owners and street people about their concerns. But he said the group is still looking at long-term solutions to deal with the problems. "If there's an immediate health issue, they know enough to take action, but if we can solve it as a group and have businesses involved maybe it's a better thing," he said. He said there's no timeline for completing the pilot project. Downtown business owner Bruce High said he's seen many needles littering alleys and vacant lots, even behind his own store, and is worried someone will be injured or contract a disease. He said he's been picking up dirty needles around his store for years. "Someone has got to do something. This is scary stuff, something is going to happen," said High, who owns Monkey Forest/Lizard River on George Street. "If the needle exchange wants to hand them out, they should have someone to go around and collect them," he said. Chief medical health officer Dr. Lorna Medd said it's not practical to expect the needle exchange to go out and collect needles from streets because there are so few staff. She said requiring drug-users to exchange a dirty needle for a clean one would lead to more sharing and spread diseases, although people are urged to return used rigs. "But the risk of transmitting Hepatitis C and HIV far outstrips the risk of a needle lying in a gutter," she said. Over the longer term I think that we would certainly be willing, as a health authority, to look at other innovative approaches to minimize the problem of discarded needles," Medd said. She said concerned citizens are also encouraged to help clean up needles, and the Northern Health Authority, which runs the exchange, can recommend how to dispose of needles safely. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk