Impact of a Medically Supervised Safer Injecting Facility on Drug Dealing and Other Drug-related Crime

Overview

Journal Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2006 May 26

PMID 16722550

Citations 43

Authors

Evan Wood

Mark W Tyndall

Calvin Lai

Julio S G Montaner

Thomas Kerr

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

North America's first medically supervised safer injecting facility (SIF) recently opened in Vancouver, Canada. One of the concerns prior to the SIF's opening was that the facility might lead to a migration of drug activity and an increase in drug-related crime. Therefore, we examined crime rates in the neighborhood where the SIF is located in the year before versus the year after the SIF opened. No increases were seen with respect to drug trafficking (124 vs. 116) or assaults/robbery (174 vs. 180), although a decline in vehicle break-ins/vehicle theft was observed (302 vs. 227). The SIF was not associated with increased drug trafficking or crimes commonly linked to drug use.

Citing Articles

Investigating the spatial association between supervised consumption services and homicide rates in Toronto, Canada, 2010-2023: an ecological analysis.

Werb D, Sung H, Na Y, Rammohan I, Eeuwes J, Smoke A Lancet Reg Health Am. 2025; 43:101022.

PMID: 40027373 PMC: 11872072. DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2025.101022.

Evaluating the effects of supervised consumption sites on housing prices in Montreal, Canada using interrupted time series and hedonic price models.

Schaefer M, Panagiotoglou D Drug Alcohol Depend Rep. 2024; 11:100242.

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The public health impacts of supervised injection sites in Canada: Moving beyond social acceptability and impacts on crime.

Cote-Lussier C, Rodrigues P Can J Public Health. 2024; 115(3):468-471.

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Characterizing Use of Supervised Consumption Services among Street-involved Youth and Young Adults in the Context of an Overdose Crisis.

Lee-Pii K, DeBeck K, Choi J, Sedgemore K, Kerr T, Kennedy M J Urban Health. 2024; 101(2):233-244.

PMID: 38536600 PMC: 11052733. DOI: 10.1007/s11524-024-00849-9.

Overdose Prevention Centers, Crime, and Disorder in New York City.

Chalfin A, Del Pozo B, Mitre-Becerril D JAMA Netw Open. 2023; 6(11):e2342228.

PMID: 37955901 PMC: 10644216. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.42228.

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