Alleged drug deals from chair outside Victoria consumption site ‘unacceptable,’ police chief says

“Drug dealing from chair outside Victoria drug centre ‘unacceptable’, police chief says”

Victoria’s police chief says undercover officers didn’t have to search far to find evidence of criminal activity outside a safe drug centre in the city.

Police Chief Del Menack said a suspected cocaine dealer was selling drugs from a chair placed directly in front of the drug overdose prevention centre.

In an interview on Thursday, the police chief said he had contacted senior leadership at the island’s health department to express his disappointment with the way the suspect was handled. The man is accused of selling drugs to undercover officers twice before being arrested.

Menack said he supports the city’s drug overdose centre but it was “unacceptable” that a service provider from the centre on Pandora Street did “nothing” about the man.

“It’s disturbing and it’s very disappointing to see an employee do nothing,” Menack said.

The police chief said an employee at the facility had a “relationship” with, interacted with, and “turned a blind eye” to drug trafficking.

He said the service provider “obviously” had a relationship with the suspected trafficker, while a police press release said the man had a “steady stream of customers.”

“Officers made two separate purchases from the man and significantly observed a service provider from the facility interacting with him without any apparent concern for illegal activity,” the statement said.

Menack said the Island Health Department had told him it would address his concerns through training and a policy review to ensure the facility operates in collaboration with community partners, including the Victoria Police Department.

The Island Health Department told The Canadian Press that it is aware of the arrests on Pandora Street “and we are grateful for the courageous and tireless work our law enforcement partners do every day.”

The department said reducing disorder on the street could include “establishing community relations” with operators, keeping people waiting for services calm and orderly, reducing aggression, encouraging people to gather in front of services and “asking people not to actively transact,” the department added.

“These requests are based on relationships and trust and are not enforceable.”

Menack said the service provider should have called police instead of engaging with the suspected trafficker.

He said he did not expect the employee to confront the man.

“I ask, ‘Where is your sense of duty and responsibility, even to the people who use your site, when you see a drug dealer set up shop in front of your front door?’”

He added that his department’s “sole responsibility” is to target drug dealers and crime in general. But when drug trafficking happens in front of a safe consumption center, it’s “problematic.”

“Then you have a local employee who comes out and engages with this person,” Menack said.

“From there, the health department can’t just turn a blind eye and call the police.”

Menack said everyone, including service providers, has a “duty and responsibility” to stop disorder on the street.

Menack said his department has a “very good working relationship” with the island’s health department, adding that he supports the safe consumption center and the idea behind it.

“This facility supports people who are addicted to illegal drugs, and it’s a very necessary service,” he said.

The police chief said he considered the incident a “rare occurrence” and was confident the Island Health Department would address the issue.

The facility is located in the 900 block of Pandora Street, in an area where homeless people have set up tents and other sleeping structures and crime has been a recurring problem.

Bicycles and shopping carts filled with belongings are parked nearby. Portable fencing has been installed to separate the camps from a nearby church and other businesses.

Victoria recently allocated more than $10 million for more police and municipal officers and other measures to reduce crime, homelessness and addiction.

A city councillor recently submitted a motion to close the supervised consumption centre, but council postponed the motion until later this year.

That would be wrong, Monk said.

“If we close down the supervised consumption centers, people will continue to use illegal drugs,” he said. “We know that the supervised consumption center saves lives, but again, closing it down is not the right thing to do.”

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