Original article is at  http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2003/07/15710.php

Police Raid Safe Injection Site at 327 Caroll st.

On Saturday July 20 th at 1:24 three police officers forced their way into
327 Carroll st, the Safer Injection Site in the Downtown eastside,
questioning and detaining people accessing the drop-in area of the safe
injection site.

Officers 3202, 1454 and 1886 involved had no warrant to enter the private
premises, and had no reasonable cause to enter the safe injection site, in
fact they are violating an agreement that involves Mayor Larry Campbell,
City Council and the Safe Injection Site.

While the volunteer's working the safe injection site managed to remove
the police from the premises, the intimadation and harassment has a
prolonged effect of deterring drug user's from accessing a place where
they can obtain clean supplies, have access to a nurse and inject in
safety.

Already on a nightly basis the people who both access and volunteer at the
Safe Injection site are subject to police harassment.
They park their cruisers directly in front of the 327
Safe Injection Site door, they walk their drug dogs in front of the Safe
Injection Site main door, the police harrass and intimidate people who
come in and
out of 327 Safe Injection site, the police drive their police motorcycles
on the
sidewalk and through crowds of people in Pidgeon park and people standing
in front of the 327 Safe Injection Site, and harrass the volunteers who
open and close the Safe Injection Site.
This is a blatant intimidation, and ultimately when the police intimidate
someone from using ANY Safe Injection Site, the police are forcing them
into the alternative, a dark back alley, or fixing in their hotel room
alone. In any case, into riskier situations, with exposure to violence,
untreated overdose, no access to medical attention, and exposure to health
risks.

The Vancouver Police department is once again exposing it's ANTI- harm
reduction
stance and it's sick disregard for the lives of people who live with
addiction and people who live in poverty. Although they claim to have
working partnership with health authorities like Vancouver Coastal Health
Authorities,they refuse to meet with the volunteers operatinf the safe
injection site at 327 Caroll st., they refuse to engage in any community
forums on policeing in the DTES, they refuse to participate in Harm
Reduction and Anti-opppression workshops and to enforce throughout their
rank and file the agreements that are made between Chief Jamie Graham and
Larry Campbell in regards to respecting the role of a safe injection site.
Turning their backs on fulfilling their role in a harm reduction
parntership and protecting the rights of injection drug users.



The safe injection site sees 25-35 people from 10pm to 2am to inject under
supervision of a nurse, it sees 2-4 people a night accessing referrals to
low threshold treatment, like methadone clinics , detox and recovery
facilities, and shelters. In one month the safe injection site exchanges
5000-6000 needles.
Recent studies have shown that an increased police presence at the Safe
Injection Site located at 327 Caroll st. have dramatically impacted the
number of people accessing the safe injection site. On a nightly basis,
with police presence recorded outside the safe injection site the number
of people accessing the safe injection site have dropped from 35 people
to 2 people, from 150 needles exchange on a nightly basis to 2 needles
exchanged.

This is more than unacceptable. The Vancouver Police department have to
be accountable.

Please lend us your support by volunteering for a safety and security
shift at 327 Carolls st. Contact Megan Oleson 251-3127

Please give us your support by contacting Mayor Larry Campbell who is
acting Chair and Media Contact Person of the Vancouver Police Department
604-873-7685  larry_campbell@city.vancouver.bc.ca demanding action taken
against the Vancouver Police Department on behalf of the people who access
the Safe Injection Site.

Please give us your support by contacting Chief Jamie Graham 604-717-3535 or
 jamie_graham@vancouvercity.bc.ca and SGT. Scott Thompson 604-717-3321
and demand that the Vancouver Police Department take
responsibility for their actions, and decease their harrassment of the
Safe Injection Site at 327 Caroll st.

Please Contact Megan Oleson, volunteer Registered Nurse at the Safe
Injection Site 604-251-3127 for more information.


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