Police chief calls for co-ordinated effort to improve Downtown Eastside

Vancouver's police chief is calling for agencies in the city's Downtown Eastside to work together to help the most vulnerable people in the drug-infested neighbourhood.

Jim Chu said Thursday a new report by his department called Project Lockstep found all levels of government, police and groups providing services in the area work too independently of one another.

"There's an adage that goes, if you want to get out of a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging. And when it comes to the problems of the Downtown Eastside, the truth is as a society we have never stopped digging," Chu said.

One catalyst for change would be to relocate the police department's headquarters back to the Downtown Eastside, Chu said.

The level of police presence in the area has decreased as mental illness, HIV and hepatitis C infections, and homelessness have increased in the crime-ridden area, he said.

The police chief has called for the creation of a steering committee comprised of city and provincial officials and a "director for the most vulnerable," which could hold service agencies accountable to improve things for those living on the edge.

Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang said whoever takes up the new director's position needs to have significant experience in administration, mental health and drug policy issues.