Lessons from Peterborough, where cops started cracking down on open drug use in 2023

When London, Ont., police unveiled their new approach to open drug use on Tuesday, they cited Peterborough as a model for the policy.

The underlying police technique is simple: Instead of walking by someone who is smoking or injecting drugs on a sidewalk or in a doorway, stop and tell them they can't consume illegal drugs out in the open, but they can get help. 

Mental health and addiction workers will work alongside foot patrol officers in London who patrol downtown, midtown and Old East Village. Police say they hope the public will feel safer and the city will look cleaner. 

CBC News spoke to Peterborough police Chief Stuart Betts, a former deputy chief in London. He was the first in the province to actively take steps to end open drug use, an initiative that started in October 2023. There, mental health workers aren't involved but officers can help people connect with resources in the community. 

The zero-tolerance approach was a response to calls from the community, especially in Peterborough's downtown.

"People were complaining that they didn't feel safe and open-air drug use was happening with a great deal of frequency in our parks, playgrounds, bus stops, bus shelters, and business storefronts, not unlike what you're seeing in London," Betts said. 

A similar policy started in Edmonton in September 2023, and the police chiefs of the two communities spoke to determine what was and wasn't working. 

Similar to London, the program is rooted in a compassionate approach to people who use drugs. Open drug use was tolerated for too long, Betts said.

"We have a consumption and treatment site here in the city," Betts said. "It's the identified location where people can use this. It's also in our downtown core. So the approach is, open-air drug use isn't going to be tolerated in public spaces other than the consumption and treatment site." 

London's police chief did not specify whether officers here would direct people to this city's supervised consumption site.

In Peterborough, officers are told to not only respond to complaints about people using drugs out in the open, but to seek those people out.

"We simply approach people and say, 'Listen, there's a controlled drug consumption site. You will go there to use your drugs. Failure to comply, to stop doing what they're doing, would result in an arrest," Betts said. 

Once someone is arrested, their drugs can be confiscated.

"They would then be released unconditionally and sent on their way. But they're now on their way without the drugs," Betts said.