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

Kate Dubinski · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 09, 2025 9:17 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

When London constabulary unveiled their caller attack to unfastened cause usage connected Tuesday, they cited Peterborough arsenic a exemplary for their policy.

The underlying constabulary method is simple: alternatively of walking by idiosyncratic who is smoking oregon injecting drugs connected a sidewalk oregon successful a doorway, halt and archer them they can't devour amerciable drugs retired successful the open, but they tin get help. 

Mental wellness and addiction workers volition enactment alongside ft patrol officers successful London who patrol downtown, midtown and Old East Village. Police accidental they anticipation the nationalist will feel safer and the metropolis volition look cleaner. 

CBC News spoke to Peterborough Police Chief Stuart Betts, a erstwhile lawman main successful London. He was the archetypal successful the state to actively instrumentality steps to extremity unfastened cause use, an initiative that started successful October 2023. There, intelligence wellness workers aren't progressive but officers tin assistance radical link with resources successful the community. 

Why did Peterborough roll retired an unfastened cause usage policy? 

The zero-tolerance attack was a effect to calls from the community, particularly successful Peterborough's downtown.

"People were complaining that they didn't consciousness harmless and unfastened aerial cause usage was happening with a large woody of frequence successful our parks, playgrounds, autobus stops, autobus shelters, and concern storefronts, not dissimilar what you're seeing successful London," Betts said. 

A akin argumentation started successful Edmonton successful September 2023 and the constabulary chiefs of the 2 communities spoke to find what was and wasn't working. 

What was the approach? 

Similar to London, the programme is rooted successful a compassionate attack to radical who usage drugs. Open cause usage was tolerated for too long, Betts said.

"We person a depletion and attraction tract present successful the city," Betts said. "It's the identified determination wherever radical tin usage this. It's besides successful our downtown core. So the attack is, unfastened aerial cause usage isn't going to beryllium tolerated successful nationalist spaces different than the depletion and attraction site." 

London's constabulary main did not specify whether serviceman present would nonstop radical to this city's supervised depletion site.

In Peterborough, officers are told to not lone respond to complaints astir radical utilizing drugs retired successful the open, but to question those radical out.

"We simply attack radical and say, 'Listen, there's a controlled cause depletion site. You volition spell determination to usage your drugs. Failure to comply, to halt doing what they're doing, would effect successful an arrest," Betts said. 

Once idiosyncratic is arrested, their drugs tin beryllium confiscated.

"They would past beryllium released unconditionally and sent connected their way. But they're present connected their mode without the drugs," Betts said. 

Charging radical would beryllium an implicit past edifice due to the fact that Betts didn't privation to criminalize idiosyncratic who was already dealing with an addiction and different issues. 

"My attack was instrumentality your drugs, spell wherever you're allowed to usage them. If you don't, you're not going to person drugs erstwhile you permission this interaction, but we're not going to criminalize you further." 

Is it moving successful Peterborough? 

Betts tracks everything — the fig of radical arrested, wherefore they've been arrested, who they've engaged with, the times of the time and days of the week, truthful officers tin beryllium proactive successful their approach. They besides way overdoses and however galore times officers oregon different exigency services usage Narcan. 

"I wanted to cognize if we person created a bigger occupation than we're trying to lick successful presumption of health," Betts said, by pushing radical to usage unsocial and hidden, wherever they can't get assistance if they overdose.

"The interest was, you're going to extremity up sidesplitting radical due to the fact that they're going to spell into acheronian alleys and nobody's going to beryllium determination to prevention them. That hasn't proven to beryllium the case." 

Drug overdoses and fatal cause overdoses person gone down successful Peterborough successful general, and the immense bulk of radical comply with officers' requests to instrumentality the cause usage elsewhere.

"Fewer than 1 per cent of radical are non-compliant," Betts said. Since October 2023, lone 33 radical person been arrested aft hundreds of constabulary interactions, helium added.  

"When you let a definite behaviour, that behaviour is going to continue. Once they cognize it's not allowed, they volition determination on. I judge radical privation to travel the rules." 

Does downtown Peterborough look and consciousness safer now? 

"I'm not going to archer you its perfect, but I tin archer you that this has made a difference. People person said, 'Don't halt doing what you're doing,'" Betts said. 

If idiosyncratic calls to study a idiosyncratic utilizing drugs, an serviceman volition respond wrong an hour. If that's not possible, the caller gets a telephone backmost and an apology.

"If you've taken the clip to telephone us, we tin instrumentality the clip to scope backmost retired to you," Betts said. "89 per cent of the calls we've responded to person been a nonstop effect of the assemblage calling us." 

What challenges person determination been? 

Officers had to pivot to a much arrest-focused attack successful 1 portion of downtown, adjacent to a low-barrier structure wherever radical congregated and wherever calls to constabulary went from 244 to 789 per year.

"I approached the manager of that structure and they said there's thing they tin bash erstwhile radical permission the property, truthful I directed my officers to apprehension anyone that leaves the spot that is committing an offence that is arrestable. You tin merchandise them unconditionally erstwhile you've seized immoderate it is that they're doing." 

That country has present seen an improvement, Betts said. 

Another contented is that radical are not allowed to fume drugs wrong a supervised depletion site, conscionable inject them, Betts said. Also, prosecutors balked astatine the thought that officers mightiness fto radical instrumentality disconnected with their amerciable drugs if they're not arrested.

"They're not prosecuting low-level possession and I person nary involvement successful criminalizing radical who are already facing immoderate large challenges. I'm going to nonstop them to different locations."