Public Disorder & the Decline of Vancouver's Livability

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Changing City

You're completely correct Vin. There's nothing like enough harm reduction investment, or safe supplies, or treatment options. The chief coroner has been clear that it's needed more than ever. That's why somewhere like Hope has seen a higher death rate than Vancouver.

Hope is a small, blue-collar depressed town with a lot smaller population than Vancouver. If a town only has one depressed person and he is an addict, overdoses and dies, then the drug death rate there is 100%.

I think the chief coroner is trying to say that harm reduction itself isn't sufficient, but there should be more treatment. Forced treatment including going cold turkey would be ideal, IMO.

However, our lazy government seem to be investing more on giving out free drugs or even decriminalize it, and these have certainly made the situation much much worse. The Stats testify to that.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Vin

Hope is a small, blue-collar depressed town with a lot smaller population than Vancouver. If a town only has one depressed person and he is an addict, overdoses and dies, then the drug death rate there is 100%.

I think the chief coroner is trying to say that harm reduction itself isn't sufficient, but there should be more treatment. Forced treatment including going cold turkey would be ideal, IMO.

However, our lazy government seem to be investing more on giving out free drugs or even decriminalize it, and these have certainly made the situation much much worse. The Stats testify to that.

That's not how death rates work. Hope's death rate is the number of deaths, compared to the entire population. 11 people died from overdoses in town of 6,600, nearly triple the provincial average rate. Including the wider population in the Health Area, it's a rate of 123.7 deaths per 100,000 people, which is higher than the City of Vancouver, which includes the DTES, where the death rate was 86.4 per 100,000 in 2023.

A doctor who works in the area said harm reduction resources are scarce. "more detox and treatment services are needed in the area, particularly in the more than a dozen nearby Indigenous communities, as well as more safe supply prescribers and psychiatric support."

"Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe has urged the provincial government to follow the recommendations of an expert panel to expand safer supply, including non-medical models, alongside regulated treatment and recovery services in order to end the crisis. "(CBC)

[whatnext]

You think the BC NDP would have learned from Oregon's disastrous trial of decriminalization policies but apparently not.

What Happened When Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs
A bold reform effort hasn’t gone as planned.

The Hard-Drug Decriminalization Disaster

Oregon pioneered a radical drug policy. Now it's reconsidering.

[GenWhy?]

Isn't consuming the drugs still illegal?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Isn't consuming the drugs still illegal?

It isn't illegal in BC. The Provincial Government tried to identify some locations where it would be illegal - within six meters (20 feet) of all building entrances and bus stops; within 15 meters (49 feet) of playgrounds, spray and wading pools, and skate parks; and in parks, beaches and sports fields. The legislation is the 'Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act', passed in November 2023.

Even then, it would have only been illegal, (allowing fines and imprisonment), for people who refuse to comply with police orders not to consume drugs.

The BC Supreme Court blocked the law from coming into effect on 29 December 2023, and the BC Government have appealed that decision (about a month ago).

[jollyburger]

1 person stabbed, others chased by suspect with knife in downtown Vancouver: police

One person has been arrested after a stabbing in downtown Vancouver Wednesday.

Vancouver police say officers were called to the area of Smithe and Beatty streets just before noon.

“The caller reported that one person was stabbed and a male was chasing people around with a knife,” Const. Tania Visintin told CityNews.

“Our VPD officers responded immediately and were able to arrest a 46-year-old suspect nearby.”

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/0...ssault-cambie/

Stranger attacks canine edition

On Sunday, her husband Mark was walking Blitz on Robson Street near Denman Street when their dog was suddenly attacked by a pit bull in front of the Times Square Hotel.

“He said it was so fast, it was like a snake strike. He didn’t see it, he just heard it. He heard the reaction of our dog, he turned around, and saw the pit bull with our dog’s face in its mouth,” said Woodley, adding her husband managed to get a photo of the attack.

She said the pit bull’s owners had trouble getting their dog’s jaws off Blitz’s face.

“And finally when the dog released, they ran into their apartment, and that’s the last we've heard or seen,” said Woodley. “I would have liked them to acknowledge it. If this was my dog doing the attack, I would not have run away. I would have stayed, I would have given them my name, my phone number, and said, 'Please send me the bill.'”

Blitz was taken to the vet, where he underwent emergency surgery on his mouth for several deep puncture wounds from the pit bull’s teeth.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/owners-of-dog-...onse-1.6815920

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/0...ssault-cambie/

So he's yet another product of our laughable justice system. I sit too much to expect he be locked up and held until trial?

...He has previously spent time in Surrey and Delta after returning from Thailand in 2022 where he spent time in custody for multiple offences including breaking into a bank, causing damage inside and overstaying his tourist visa, Palmer explained.

“Six days ago, on March 15, the suspect was released from Fraser Regional Correctional Centre, on probation, after serving a jail sentence for uttering threats against his own family members and also against prominent federal politicians,” he said.

He then failed to report to his probation officer on Wednesday morning in Surrey and was subsequently involved in a number of incidents in Vancouver.

“We now believe the same man is responsible for five separate violent and unprovoked incidents that unfolded in downtown Vancouver throughout the morning yesterday,” Palmer said.

At 8:40 a.m. on Wednesday, a man was attacked near Seymour and West Cordova streets.

Minutes later, a 911 call came in with a report that a man had entered a coffee shop near Harbour Centre. Palmer said there was a disturbance where a window was broken and customers feared for their safety.

The third incident happened at about 11:25 a.m. when a man was walking near Main and Prior streets when a man lunged at him with a knife and was yelling at him.

The victim managed to run away from the attacker, Palmer added.

The suspect was then involved in the random stabbing of the 61-year-old victim where he was taken into custody.......

https://globalnews.ca/news/10374991/...ce=site_banner

[jollyburger]

His Thailand crime spree.

https://www.reddit.com/r/whitetouris..._meades_44_in/

Not even sure it's drugs, the guy seems like he's delusional.

[jollyburger]

"unprovoked attack" aka stranger attacks?

Transit police say one person has been arrested after a 70-year-old man was the victim of an “unprovoked assault” at a Vancouver SkyTrain station this month.

According to the Metro Vancouver Transit Police, it happened on March 11 just before 3 p.m. Police say the senior was waiting to board a SkyTrain at Granville Station when he “heard yelling from behind him, but didn’t respond.”

“As a train came to a stop in the station, the man was grabbed from behind and violently pushed forward,” the MVTP said in a release Thursday.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/0...ssault-arrest/

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

His Thailand crime spree.

https://www.reddit.com/r/whitetouris..._meades_44_in/

Not even sure it's drugs, the guy seems like he's delusional.

He obviously needs a one-way ticket to Riverview.

[jollyburger]

According to court documents obtained by CBC, Meades was sentenced in December to 148 days in jail after being found guilty of threatening to cause death or bodily harm to Chrystia Freeland in August 2023 in a case investigated by the RCMP's national security team.

Meades was also charged — but not convicted — with threatening RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme at the same time.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...-b-c-1.7151420

[Vin]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

"unprovoked attack" aka stranger attacks?

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/0...ssault-arrest/

Heard he's released. I guess more crime spree before his next court date? What a broken system we have here.

Originally Posted by jollyburger

His Thailand crime spree.

https://www.reddit.com/r/whitetouris..._meades_44_in/

Not even sure it's drugs, the guy seems like he's delusional.

Drugs screw with your head. I don't know why Canadians like to separate the two issues. They are very much inter-related.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Vin

Heard he's released. I guess more crime spree before his next court date? What a broken system we have here.




Drugs screw with your head. I don't know why Canadians like to separate the two issues. They are very much inter-related.

What are you talking about? Even an 8 year old knows drugs “screw with your head”.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Vin

Drugs screw with your head. I don't know why Canadians like to separate the two issues. They are very much inter-related.

That doesn't mean you need to use hard drugs to be schizophrenic or bipolar.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Vin

Drugs screw with your head. I don't know why Canadians like to separate the two issues. They are very much inter-related.

Where did you read that drugs were involved with the situation?

The Vancouver Chief Constable said "that according to the arresting officers, Meades appeared to have mental health problems."

Canadians like to separate drugs and mental health because they're not necessarily in any way linked. You, on the other hand, seem to think drugs are always involved when there's an apparent psychosis implicated in criminal behaviour.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Where did you read that drugs were involved with the situation?

The Vancouver Chief Constable said "that according to the arresting officers, Meades appeared to have mental health problems."

Canadians like to separate drugs and mental health because they're not necessarily in any way linked. You, on the other hand, seem to think drugs are always involved when there's an apparent psychosis implicated in criminal behaviour.

You don't know that either. Meades may not be one, but there are way too many drug-related psychosis cases here compared to other places, and it has to do with the free use of drugs.

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by Vin

You don't know that either. Meades may not be one, but there are way too many drug-related psychosis cases here compared to other places, and it has to do with the free use of drugs.

[citation needed]

[Burquitlaman]

Originally Posted by CanSpice

[citation needed]

Citation do be needed, but what he's saying isn't crazy either. A lot of misery among the native born population in BC is drug related. I work for a BC Ministry as a decision maker (won't say which Ministry or what my role is to keep my privacy) and a shocking number of people I deal with are clearly addicted to drugs. That leads them to do all sorts of moronic things.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Burquitlaman

Citation do be needed, but what he's saying isn't crazy either. A lot of misery among the native born population in BC is drug related. I work for a BC Ministry as a decision maker (won't say which Ministry or what my role is to keep my privacy) and a shocking number of people I deal with are clearly addicted to drugs. That leads them to do all sorts of moronic things.

Thanks for this revelation. Many of the drug-related issues are out there for the public to see, but ego is often factored into a sentiment of denial among folks here unfortunately.

We need to identify the root problem first even before attempting to deal with the related issues, but there are always pushbacks from many quarters which I find is rather moronic.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by CanSpice

[citation needed]

https://www.ccsa.ca/sites/default/fi...se-2013-en.pdf

This one attempts to link the two, but so far there are no real data that I know of showing the statistics of the percentage of those with mental problems and disorderly behaviour related to drug/alcohol abuse, although logic tells us the higher the use of drugs in a society, the higher the mental cases. Try living in a society with less drug use and you can see the difference.