| Myth: Because they attract drug addicts, safe injection clinics bring increased crime, litter, and public drug use to their neighbourhoods. |
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Actually... Research demonstrates that safe injection clinics, including Insite, have not increased crime rates in their surrounding areas. Rates of arrest for drug trafficking, assaults, and robbery have remained the same after the introduction of safe injection sites, while rates of vehicle break-ins and theft have experienced a significant decline1. The sites provide addicts with a safe, indoor space to inject, and have drastically reduced rates of public drug use as well as the amount of injection-related litter, such as used needles, in the streets2. Safe injection sites not only improve the safety of intravenous drug users, they make communities safer for all residents by reducing both property crime and public drug use. Proponents of repressive and punitive drug policies love to appeal to the need to “clean up our streets”; safe injection clinics actually accomplish it.
1. DeBeck, K. et al. (2008). “Police and Public Health Partnerships: Evidence from the Evaluation of Vancouver’s Supervised Injection Facility.” Substance Abuse Treatment,Prevention, and Policy. 2. Wood, E. et al.(2004). “Changes in Public Order After the Opening of a Medically Supervised Safer Injecting Facility for Illicit Injection Drug Users.” Canadian Medical Association Journal. |
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