Drug violence on DTES rampant, but police can help

Violence inthe drug trade is endemic on the Downtown Eastside according to a German researcher and university professor studying the subject.

And because some of that violence is between higher-level drug dealers and their subordinates, Anke Stallwitz says police can be part of the solution when it comes to making arrests by being more thorough with paperwork.

"Street dealers suffer from so-called 'not getting a ticket': getting their drugs taken off them but not getting the adequate paperwork," she told On The Coast host Stephen Quinn.

"So when they go to their boss and say, 'The drugs are actually gone, they have been taken off me,' they would often get the response, 'You just smoked it or injected it or stole it." In fact, police took the drugs but didn't provide the suspects with proof.

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Stallwitz spent the last five months studying drug violence in the Downtown Eastside, partnering with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users to interview people who use and deal drugs.

The research so far suggests that violence among drug users and dealers is prevalent, especially in the 100-block of East Hastings Street, where she says drug dealing is chaotic because no one has established control.

Chaotic drug-dealing puts low-level drug dealers especially women in particular danger, both from customers who might try and rob them, and from their superiors, who are often unafraid of using violence to enforce the rules.

Stallwitz says she began studying the Downtown Eastside because she considers it the largest open- air drug market in the world.

After finishing her work in Vancouver, Stallwitz says she will be doing similar research in Stockholm.

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast

To hear the full story, clickthe audio labelled:Drug violence on DTES rampant, but some suffer more than others