The Homeless and East Hastings…
My commute means driving completely down East Hastings each day. After the first few months of shock at what goes on down there, I now marvel at how the “homeless” have managed to take control of the area and turn it into a lawless area.
There is a solution… if anyone really wants one.
Stop tolerating this behavior.
When I worked in New York, I got to witness how Rudy the solved the crime and drug problem.
He posed the question…
… Why do the homeless and drug addicts have more rights than the people working and paying taxes do?
He then started by cleaning up areas and painting over graffiti. Fixing windows and changing the way police dealt with the problems areas…
The results are legendary.
Vancouver’s permissive society is at the root of the problem.
As I drive down East Hastings - I have yet to see a cop do anything about the crack whore jumping into a car next to them, the group of guys openly selling pot and crack, or actually doing anything to preemptively stop crime.
It’s like they are part of the gang. The only time I see them act is when someone is run over, starts a fire, or is beating on someone.
The Police Department should be charged with dereliction of duty.
The first step in demonstrating that bad behavior is no longer tolerated is to clean up the street, paint over graffiti every day, focusing on crime before it happens, and arresting anyone whoring, dealing or public intoxication. The presence of authority in the area would change thing immediately.
Show that the city cares about the mess by cleaning it up. Every day. Even if it takes a dedicated sanitation unit.
Every time I suggest they should arrest people for using drugs in public, I hear the answer - the courts won’t do anything, we don’t have enough jails…
It’s a cop-out. Get a warehouse and convert it to an overnight jail. Arrest and hold overnight.
Disrupt the party. Catch and release…
Feed the hungry, house the poor - with conditions.
Quit using money as the excuse… it isn’t the problem. They’re spending a ton down there.
Ending the tolerance is the first step in really helping the addicts and homeless.
Start now and you won’t have to hide this embarrassment when the Olympics arrive.
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July 11th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
the shithole of vancouver - easthastings….
July 18th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Thanks for the post - it caught my attention immediately as I drive by the same thing everyday on my way to gastown. I agree about Rudy’s work to clean up NYC! When I went there I was so impressed at what a clean city it is. Let’s get on it Van.