He may not want to see one in Windsor now, but the city's police chief said he's willing to give the idea another look.
Chief Al Frederick briefly discussed the possibility of placing a supervised injection site in Windsor at Thursday's police services board meeting. A facility such as that would allow intravenous drug users to inject in an environment that is hygienic and medically-supervised.
The chief has gone on record this past spring saying that he would not welcome such a facility in Windsor, but after he recently attended an international discussion in Washington, D.C. on opioid use, Frederick said he and other police chiefs in Canada and the US are willing to look at the issue again.
Still, Frederick said he does not want to address a potential site for Windsor just yet.
"We have to do more work, and I'm not in favour of one opening today," said Frederick. "I don't know that impact on the community. That is the caveat that I need to understand fully."
Supervised injection sites are already up and running in places like Toronto, and there is a temporary site in London. Frederick said his department needs to take a closer look at the data surrounding them before considering a site for Windsor.
"The data needs to prove their effectiveness," said Frederick. "By their effectiveness, I understand that they reduce harm and they reduce the opportunity for overdose, but I want to know what the impact is on the community surrounding those centres."
The chief also said he needs to see information on any correlation between crime and injection sites.
