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I appreciate Mark Follman's very optimistic article about Insite in my home city of Vancouver. I am very much in favor of the site despite what I am going to say next.
It is now a regualar occurance to see one or two addicts shooting up in the back alley of my apartment. I live in the fairly well-off neighborhood of Kitsilano, several miles from the Downtown Eastside that houses Insite. It's likely that these same people are the ones breaking into our apartment's garage and vandalizing cars every couple of months. Petty crime in Vancouver is on the rise, and drug use is spreading to all parts of the city (I don't know if numbers are up, but many are no longer staying in the Downtown Eastside).
It's easy to find crime statistics here: http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/police/Planning/Reports/District.html
Mark mentioned in his article about the 4 pillars that targets prevention, treatment, and crime (and something else that I can't remember). This was great rhetoric for its time, but the only thing that is funded properly is Insite. The police force is vastly underfunded. When we report a break-in to our apartment building, the police don't even show up---just an automated service to report your crime.
My point is that Vancouver has gone too far with its carrot approach and it is affecting the non-drug-addled citizens. I do not want to see Insite go away, but I do want to see fewer criminals on the street.
