Politics · Canada · 13 hrs ago
St. John's reports more public drug use as possession prosecutions fall
St. John's has seen a rise in reports of discarded needles and open drug use in public spaces.
The city's 311 service received more than 1,000 related calls over two years, compared with 181 in 2016.
At the Froude Avenue Community Centre, staff collect needles to keep them away from children, and the centre has fenced its yard and changed how children move between school and the centre.
Federal prosecutors are handling fewer simple drug possession cases, and Newfoundland and Labrador has seen a 10-year decline.
In 2020, federal prosecutors were directed to avoid criminal charges for possession, a policy change that coincided with the rise in reported public use.
The change in policy does not mean possession is legal; it guides prosecutors away from charges.
The available information does not say what action will follow.
St. John’s received more than 1,000 calls about discarded needles and open drug use over the last two years, according to city records obtained by CBC.
The number of such reports was 181 in 2016.
At the same time, federal prosecutors are handling fewer simple drug possession cases, with an overall 10-year decline in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The decline in prosecutions coincides with a 2020 policy change directing prosecutors away from criminal charges for drug possession.
The Froude Avenue Community Centre says discarded needles and public drug use have changed how it protects children and runs its programs.
- Who
- St. John’s residents have reported discarded needles and open drug use; the Froude Avenue Community Centre is among the affected places.
- What
- Reports about needles and open consumption have increased, while simple drug possession prosecutions have declined.
- When
- More than 1,000 calls were made over the last two years. The prosecution policy changed in 2020.
- Where
- St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Why
- The sources say the decline in prosecutions coincides with a policy directing prosecutors away from possession charges. They do not establish why public drug use has increased.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The city received 181 reports about discarded needles and open consumption.
The Public Prosecution Service of Canada directed prosecutors away from laying criminal charges for drug possession.
St. John’s received more than 1,000 calls about needles and open consumption.
The community centre stopped allowing children to walk alone to and from nearby schools after children reported seeing someone using drugs on a pathway.
- City calls
- More than 1,000 reports about needles and open consumption over the last two years
- Earlier reports
- 181 such reports in 2016
- Policy change
- 2020
- Location
- Froude Avenue Community Centre, St. John’s
- Children’s safety measure
- Children are no longer allowed to walk alone to and from nearby schools
What people are saying
In the last three years we definitely had an extreme uprise [of] even more of the drug paraphernalia being seen around the area
Over the last year, I would not go out and ask anybody now to move or put those things away because the response back just isn't the same.