Pubdate: Mon, 08 Aug 2016
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Nick Eagland
Page: A2

DRUG VIOLENCE IS NOT INEVITABLE

Dr. Anke Stallwitz, a German professor of social and community
psychology, studied the drug scene of the Downtown Eastside in March.
After many interviews and meetings with community groups, she offers
her take on how to mitigate the violence, writes Nick Eagland.

A DEALING HIERARCHY WITHOUT RULES BRINGS GREAT SUFFERING

Stallwitz said she found the violence most prevalent in the East
100-block of Hastings Street, between Columbia and Main, where the
dealing hierarchy is disorganized and "sanctions" aren't tied to
clearly defined rules. On this block, anyone can sell drugs, unlike
other blocks which are tightly controlled by high-level dealers and
organizations. "If a dealer is caught selling on a block or hotel run
by someone else, they'll be given a lecture," she said. "But if they
continue, there's a good chance they'll get beaten up." Stallwitz said
interviewees frequently cited organization and trust between dealers
as key factors in safety. "If these are big, then the level of
violence can be kept very low," she said.

UNDOCUMENTED DRUG SEIZURES LEAD TO "MASSIVE VIOLENCE"

When police confiscate a street-level dealer's drugs without providing
a record of the seizure, higher-level dealers will often look to
settle the debt for the lost product through "massive violence,"
Stallwitz said. "They say, 'Well, you just smoked it all, you injected
it, you stole it,'" she said. Vancouver Police Const. Brian Montague
said arrestees are given a notice to appear in court, but there are
cases where police will find drugs near a person but not have enough
evidence linking them to the drugs for a charge to hold up in court.
In such cases, officers will seize the drugs without making an arrest
and if someone seeks proof of that, they can ask the officer for a
business card with a file number, he said.

ESTABLISHING A CODE OF CONDUCT TO REDUCE VIOLENCE

Stallwitz worked with VANDU groups to develop a "socially-responsible
code of conduct" for dealers and buyers. They plan to make pamphlets
to disperse in the area that will promote reflection on violent
behaviour and outline clear non-violent sanctions for when rules are
overstepped. "There are a lot of people who say, 'Oh, you'll always
have violence in dealing, you can't change it,'" Stallwitz said. "But
I've been in quite a number of different countries and looked at very
different scenes, and I've seen very different levels of violence."
VANDU board member Hugh Lampkin said a newly-formed "Safer
Neighbourhood Action Team" will meet regularly to work on mitigating
violence in the drug scene.
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