Police Chief Bray ‘really impressed’ with harm reduction program
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Police Chief Evan Bray says over his 27 years in policing attitudes and techniques have modified as police cope with overdose epidemic in Canada
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Police Chief Evan Bray says he’s “actually impressed” with the affect Regina’s first protected consumption website has had on the neighborhood.
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2021 was a report 12 months for suspected drug toxicity deaths and Bray and members of the Regina Police Service (RPS) are all too acquainted, having responded to 299 overdoses — 136 of which have been deadly.
“This 12 months, we’re nonetheless seeing some alarming numbers by way of, a number of occasions a day, our officers or emergency providers in Regina are responding to overdoses,” stated Bray talking Thursday. That the Friendship Centre gives supervision, and that they’ll reverse overdoses which may in any other case show deadly is essential to getting a deal with on the rising variety of deaths attributed to dangerous medication and drug consumption.
“They’re completely making a distinction. They’re saving lives in the course of an epidemic,” he stated.
Bray’s stance for a while has been that an efficient policing technique, on the subject of medication, has to incorporate hurt discount. Stopping seven deadly overdoses in February alone is proof optimistic that the centre is working, stated Bray.
“That’s hurt discount doing what it units out to do, which is stop severe harm and loss of life whereas as a neighborhood, as associates, as household, as a metropolis, we’re looking for a technique to meaningfully assist individuals with their addictions,” stated Bray.
With respect for the increased usage of the centre, Bray stated it spoke to the standard of service and the flexibility of the location’s members to construct in-roads to the neighborhood. Given the stigma round drug use and given the stigma round dependancy Bray stated he doesn’t think about it’s straightforward for individuals to go to there.
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“That’s a far stretch irrespective of how a lot outreach a company does, so the truth that they’ve been in a position to improve their numbers, the way in which they’ve, I feel, could be very, very optimistic,” stated Bray.
Bray’s help for the Newo Yotina Friendship Centre and its protected consumption website goes again to 2020 when he wrote letters in help of opening the protected consumption website.
“We all know individuals endure from dependancy and we wish to assist maintain individuals wholesome and protected in any approach doable,” he stated.
Over his 27 years in policing, Bray stated attitudes have modified from taking a look at drug customers as “dangerous guys” to police departments embracing hurt discount, protected consumption websites and even advocating the decriminalization of easy possession of medicine.
“We have to take a look at it from a preservation of life, wellness and security perspective. And that’s why we signed as much as the cops,” he stated, including that the Board of Police Commissioners will probably be discussing decriminalization within the coming months.
Bray stated the RPS is a lot better at focusing on drug sellers, and the suppliers than they’re reforming or serving to customers since, as he frankly admitted, there are higher providers in the neighborhood to assist with addictions. From his learn on the scenario, an individual coping with dependancy isn’t going to be assisted by handcuffing and arresting them except a severe crime has been dedicated.
“For probably the most half, those who have an dependancy drawback, aren’t criminals by nature,” he stated. “Those that have an dependancy drawback, have an dependancy drawback. It’s a well being problem.”
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