91原创 City is looking into using outdoor drop boxes to stop addicts from discarding used hypodermic needles in public places.
Council has endorsed a proposal from the Crime Prevention Task Group chaired by councillor Nathan Pachal to have staff investigate with the Fraser Health regional authority 鈥渢he possibility of a pilot program which would install drop boxes in areas where there is a pattern of discarded needles.鈥�
鈥淚 live right next to Portage Park and I鈥檝e seen needles on the ground,鈥� Pachal told the Times.
鈥淣o one wants to see that. There鈥檚 just people discarding needles where they shouldn鈥檛 be.鈥�
Pachal said the task group made the recommendation after it was alerted to the results of a Montreal study that found placing metal drop boxes in places where addicts shoot up produced a dramatic drop in the number of abandoned hypodermic needles.
The report on the five-year study 鈥溾�� published in the International Journal of Drug Policy in 2009 by researchers from McGill University and the University of Washington found 鈥渟trong evidence鈥� that installing 12 outdoor drop boxes (DBs) in 鈥渘on-park open spaces鈥� of Montreal including 鈥渉ot spots鈥� with high levels of discarded needles reduced the number of abandoned 鈥渟harps鈥� collected on the ground by up to 98 per cent.
The Montreal program used stainless-steel, locked boxes with a capacity of 450 needles.
鈥淔rom the perspective of public health and city officials, DBs are attractive because they represent a low-cost intervention that requires little maintenance,鈥� the report noted.
The report said intravenous drug users 鈥渋n most situations prefer safe disposal to discarding鈥� and will walk as far as 200 metres to use a drop box if they know it鈥檚 there.
The Montreal study concluded by noting drop boxes by themselves will not eradicate discarded needles completely.
鈥淢inimizing the harm caused by discards requires a multi-part policy鈥� the report said, one that includes permanent programs to encourage returning needles to distribution sources, convenient drop boxes and rapid-response programmes to collect abandoned syringes.
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Any pilot drop box program in 91原创 City will have to be co-ordinated with the Fraser Health regional authority which distributes clean needles as part of its initiative, Pachal said.
鈥淚 think if you were to ask community members, they would say the collection (of used needles by a Fraser Health contractor) is not living up to expectations,鈥� Pachal sad.
鈥淪o this is all part of that, to get that full cycle so that, yes, they鈥檙e doing their harm reduction but they also have to make sure that they鈥檙e picking (those needles) up and they are making sure that our community is also safe.鈥�
The 91原创 pilot, if it goes ahead, would see 鈥渟mall and discreet鈥� needle drop boxes installed in areas where they are most often discarded, Pachal said.
鈥淚f we can get that in our community and we don鈥檛 have to worry about a kid running into a needle or a senior seeing a needle that鈥檚 a big win,鈥� Pachal said.
鈥淲hen you get rid of these things, you actually reduce crime. It sends a cue that our community is safe, that our community doesn鈥檛 tolerate this stuff.鈥�
The program would be preceded by a public education component.
鈥淲e want to make sure that if it does go forward, that residents are informed, that they are given a chance to learn as well,鈥� Pachal said.
The City has already installed depository boxes inside washrooms at Douglas Park, Douglas Recreation Centre and Rotary Centennial Park.
As well, some 91原创 City business like Cascades Casino have 鈥渟harps鈥� depository boxes in their washrooms.
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91原创 City Council created the Crime Prevention Task Group in March with a mandate that includes promoting a CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) review of geographic areas where there are high levels of crime, increasing RCMP foot and bike patrol in the downtown core and at crime hot spots as well as promoting Crime Watch in residential neighbourhoods and Business Watch in commercial and industrial areas.
dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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