Chief Davis discusses drug crisis changes in 2018, and supports coming to deal with it

In reflecting back on the year and dealing with the drug crisis, Police Chief Rob Davis says the change officers have seen in 2018 is that meth has clearly overtaken fentanyl.

“One of the points that I’m really driving home when I’m speaking to groups or individuals is, we need to change our language when we talk about the crisis, we can’t keep saying opioid, opioid, opioid when it’s really being surpassed by meth now. When we talk about the drug issue, we need to make sure whatever the solutions are they need to be wide enough in range that they’re going to cover any drug, not just opioids,” Davis said.

So, just how did the crisis change happen? Well, Davis says there are a couple of philosophies out there.

“One is that people weren’t dropping dead of bad meth, whereas with the fentanyl crisis we saw people overdosing and dying,” he continued. “The other theory is just how cheap it is, it’s relatively cheap to make, cheap to buy and easy to conceal. So, just the availability and how cheap it is.”

Davis believes the impact of the three initiatives that received City Council funding will be huge to help police moving forward but added there’s a couple of elements to them.

“The drug addiction piece is really outside the purview of police, that’s a health issue. So, the announcement by the province about long-term housing and the intox/detox centre are all necessary items that must be in place to support the safe consumption site. There’s a number of wrap-around services that absolutely have to exist for that thing to function properly.”

“Our piece is enforcement, which is a small piece of that but an important piece. We’re going to see the Community Peace Officers (CPOs) within the City of Lethbridge, we were funded for 15 of those, so we’re going to get those trained in the first half of 2019 and have them out on the streets to increase visibility. We’re also launching the Ambassador Watch Program, and we’re excited about the watch because it’s going to create opportunities for citizens to volunteer to work with us to help address issues of public safety.”

What Davis really likes about the watch is it gives an opportunity for volunteers that are reflective of the diversity of this city to become engaged.

“I’m really looking forward to recruiting and getting volunteers in for the watch,” he added.

A number of businesses in Lethbridge publicly expressed their support for the programs ahead of the financial deliberations, and some members of the community have spoken about wanting to get involved to help. The importance of that public support was a big help according to Davis in getting approval for the programs.

“I need to thank all of the different groups that supported our budgets asks, they were a voice that we needed, and they continue to be supportive. Now the next step is when we start recruiting for that enthusiasm to stay in place.”

It wasn’t all good news for the police at the end of the year, however, as their base budget was sent back for a second look during deliberations and some money was cut out to have it more in line with other municipal agencies and services.

Davis acknowledges that it’s going to be challenging to deal with that, but the reality is they have to adjust.

“At least we know where the goalposts are now, we’re going to have to look internally to realign to meet the mission, but the nice part is we received the funding for the CPOs and the watch independent of our base budget. To get those two off the ground it’s nice to have the funds in place, but the support mechanisms internally to support the programs is going to be a challenge,” Davis stated, adding it is what it is and they have to live within that and get it done.

The drug crisis was the main issue receiving the bulk of police attention in 2018, and while there were other issues in the city, a lot of it spins off the crisis.

“We’ve seen an incredible spike in our property crime and that’s a direct correlation to addiction,” Davis explained.

“People that are in the cycle of addiction, they reach a point where they lose their job or their source of income, yet they have the need to feed their drug addiction, so they resort to crime. We can clearly see the increase, whether it’s breaking into a shed or a vehicle to steal a purse, and with tap technology, if someone steals a purse with three or four credit cards, they can use them until they max out. That’s where it’s a real challenge because it’s all interconnected but it puts a strain on the officers.”

And while not everything crime related spun off of the drug crisis, Davis admits it was a good chunk.

“I wouldn’t say 100 percent of our issues, but a much of what we dealt with in 2018 relates to that,” Davis continued. “Just the sheer volume, I don’t think anyone anticipated the number of people using the safe consumption site as we’re seeing.”

by Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Chief Davis discusses drug crisis changes in 2018, and supports coming to deal with it

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