Pubdate: Mon, 10 Jan 2005
Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 Vancouver Courier
Contact:  http://www.vancourier.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474
Author: Mike Howell

MAKING CITY SAFER FOR PUBLIC AND ADDICTS MAYOR'S TOP PRIORITIES

Mayor Larry Campbell says he wants the city to hire 50 more police officers 
and have the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority operate the city's 
supervised injection site 24 hours a day.

Those are two priorities of the former RCMP drug squad member and coroner 
as he heads into the last 10 months of his three-year term as mayor of 
Vancouver. The municipal election is in November.

"We should be looking at [hiring] 50 officers every year for the next five 
years," Campbell told the Courier.

He said the police department hasn't hired enough police to keep pace with 
the population growth in the city. The shortage has meant more overtime 
policing costs and fewer officers to investigate property crime and other 
non-emergency calls.

"We need to ensure that enforcement is in place," he said, noting a tax 
hike would likely be necessary to pay for more police. "There'll be a tax 
hike for simple cost of living, then you start from there."

Whether he will get the support of a majority of council to hire more 
police is unclear, but considering councillors Raymond Louie, Jim Green and 
Tim Stevenson share his vision, one more vote from one of the six other 
councillors would make it happen.

As for Insite, the supervised injection site on East Hastings, Campbell 
said a recent evaluation of its one-year operation suggested an average of 
600 addicts a day are using the site.

The site currently opens from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m., seven days a week and is 
run by the health authority and the PHS Community Services Society. 
Extending the operating times by another six hours would make it a 24-hour 
operation, Campbell said.

Though he would like to see more injection sites built in Vancouver, 
Campbell said Insite should be operating at full capacity before a second 
site is considered.

"If we're looking at expansion, we should max out our resources, so I would 
say let's make it 24 hours a day. And when that capacity is built, then we 
have to make a decision where we want to go and what we want to do, and 
where [a second site] should be."

Campbell told the Courier last summer he would like to have a storage room 
at Insite used as a safe inhalation site for crack cocaine smokers. On 
Thursday, however, he admitted the crack room likely won't happen before 
the next election.

He said research on the topic is limited, but he still believes such a site 
is necessary in a city where crack smoking is prevalent, particularly in 
the Downtown Eastside, where a pebble-sized piece of crack sells for $10.

Other priorities for Campbell this year include finalizing a development 
plan for southeast False Creek and creating a more environmentally friendly 
transportation plan for the city.

Campbell said public hearings are expected to occur in February for the 
False Creek plan, which includes the athletes village for the 2010 Winter 
Olympics. The plan calls for "living roofs" and thermal heating, which make 
the plan "a model for the world," according to the mayor.

"I was talking to the consul general from China, and they're extremely 
interested in [what we're doing]."

Reflecting on his first term as mayor, Campbell pointed to developing the 
Woodward's building, securing the Olympic bid, legalizing secondary suites, 
creating an ethical purchasing policy, supporting the RAV line and 
approving slots for Hastings Racecourse as major accomplishments.

His biggest disappointment was not winning a ward system to replace the 
current at-large voting system.

"The people spoke. We live in a democracy and I promote that. I listen to 
them, if that's what they say, that's fine."

All of Campbell's priorities for the next 10 months in office could, 
however, be overshadowed by the ongoing dispute between his own COPE Lite 
caucus-comprising Campbell, Louie, Green and Stevenson-and COPE Classic 
councillors, which include Ellen Woodsworth, Fred Bass, Tim Louis and David 
Cadman.

The two sides have been divided over the Olympics, slot machines and 
transportation, especially RAV.

At a press conference in December, Campbell said he wasn't quitting COPE 
and hoped to bring the two sides together before the election. But Campbell 
said Thursday he won't let the infighting inhibit governing the city.

"It's part of all of [COPE's] focus. It's not just me, it's the whole 
organization. I'm not going to spend all of my time on it, but I would like 
to see it resolved. But there's lots of things going on in the city and 
interim that I have to keep my eye on."

Council's first public meeting of the year is Jan. 18.
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MAP posted-by: Beth