Pubdate: Sun, 15 Jan 2017
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2017 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Katie DeRosa
Page: A1

NEW FENCE PUT UP ON PANDORA TO CUT DRUG DEALING

Owner of private property follows recent move by church

Another fence is going up in the 800 block of Pandora Avenue as
businesses grapple with drug dealing and homelessness in the area.

The new fence, on private property, will block off a small stairwell
and sunken alcove on the Pandora side of the former Central Care Home,
between the Subway restaurant and the Central Baptist Church.

The work was started shortly after videos showing people conducting
drug deals near the stairwell were posted online. In the videos, a man
in a hooded sweater can be seen standing on the sidewalk, portioning
out and selling drugs, and counting $20 bills.

In a statement, Victoria police said it is aware of the videos and has
been working with nearby businesses to come up with ways to deal with
loitering and drug dealing.

"We are aware that fencing is going up, and we believe this will
create some displacement," the department said. "We will continue to
work with the neighbouring businesses in the area to address these
problems."

VicPD said officers were targeting drug traffickers in the area all
last week, and said the people in the videos are being
investigated.

In December, the Central Baptist Church, at 823 Pandora Ave., erected
a concrete-block wall and metal fence in an effort to deter drug
dealers and homeless people. The decision sparked a debate between
those who felt the church was not showing compassion to the city's
most vulnerable, and others who felt the block is becoming
increasingly unsafe.

"I personally don't think fences are the answer," Victoria Mayor Lisa
Helps told the Times Colonist on Saturday.

One part of the solution, she said, is police enforcement to get drugs
and the people dealing them off the streets. However, Helps said the
bigger picture issue is to get treatment for people addicted to drugs.

"Any person who is out on the street who may look homeless or may look
like someone who has a mental-health challenge, they're not all drug
dealers," Helps said. "So we really need to keep a balanced
perspective and not paint everyone with the same brush."

Kalen Harris, owner of Shatterbox Coffee Bar, across Quadra Street and
on the opposite side of Pandora from the Subway, said many of his
customers work in the area.

"They have regular complaints about drug dealer activity on the block
and the general neglect from authorities," Harris said.

For a long time, Harris said, members of the street community gathered
outside the Victoria Conservatory of Music at the intersection of
Pandora Avenue and Quadra Street.

Local business owners and the North Park Neighbourhood Association
spoke with police as well as the staff at Our Place, at 919 Pandora,
to try to address loitering and drug activity.

However, those efforts only displaced people west, to the block of
Pandora between Quadra and Blanshard streets, Harris said.

"I've popped over to Subway and, yeah, you see people doing drug deals
right on the corner there, and it's not ideal for a neighbourhood
that's growing and changing," he said.

"The end result of this, until we actually address the real issue of
drug addiction and the sale of drugs, we're just going to keep
sweeping the issue off to the next shadowy corner."
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MAP posted-by: Matt