Crime rates declined over time near Toronto supervised drug consumption sites, study suggests

A new study has found that overdose prevention sites (OPS) and supervised consumption sites (SCS) were not associated with overall increases in crime rates in Toronto neighbourhoods.

Researchers at McGill University began investigating the issue after hearing community concerns that OPS and SCS locations were being linked to increases in crime. Instead, they discovered there were “neutral to positive” impacts to areas with sites due to a decline in most crimes over time, said researcher Dimitra Panagiotoglou.

“Overall these sites don't lead to increases in crime, but there are ways of integrating them into communities that are more positive than not,” she said.

The one exception to the study was an increase in break and enters in some areas right after sites opened, but those rates declined month to month over time, said Panagiotoglou.

She said trends in assaults, robberies, thefts over $5,000, bicycle thefts and thefts from motor vehicles also decreased overtime near sites.

The study, published in JAMA, looked at incidents of crime within a 400-metre radius of nine OPS and SCS locations in Toronto from Jan. 1, 2014 to June 30, 2024.

Researchers used Toronto police data on assault, auto theft, break and enters, robbery, theft over $5,000, bike theft and theft from motor vehicles starting from a few years before sites were opened until just before many were closed by the province.

She notes researchers had hoped to also look into reports of nuisances in neighbourhoods, such as public defecation or needles and syringes found outside, but didn't have adequate data.

Other limitations, she said, included not being able to rule out other reasons for declines in crime, including changes in policing quality in communities.

While it’s important to not ignore community concerns, Panagiotoglou said the study’s results show that more awareness is needed about overdose prevention.

“I want people to stay curious and look at sites where crime went down from the beginning and see what we learn there,” she said.

Study validates what frontline workers know: Fred Victor CEO

There are limitations in the context these studies provide about the impact sites have and the makeup of the neighbourhoods they're based in, said Zoe Dodd, co-organizer with the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society.

“Yes, there's correlation to a site opening [in Kensington Market] and [an increase in] break and enters, but that's not causation,” she said, adding many of these communities have been impacted by the high cost of living and limited access to housing.

“I think that there's probably more of a correlation to poverty than there is actually to a supervised consumption site opening.”

In spite of that, Dodd says she agrees with the study’s findings and hopes it will lead to more conversation about the impact of closing OPS and SCS locations.

The study’s findings validate what frontline workers at Fred Victor have known all along, that sites can be beneficial to communities, said CEO Keith Hambly.

“We know behaviours can be intimidating and threatening to people who are not used to seeing those types of things,” he said, adding staff have processes in place to engage with the community and address any issues.

“We always preface our work by saying we are doing health work … and we are providing more than just a safe place to use. It's a connection to other services.”

Lower crime rates don't always equate to greater sense of safety: police

Officers near OPS and SCS locations work closely with site staff and residents to prevent any issues, said Toronto police spokesperson Nadine Ramadan.

She said it's important to note that lower crime rates don't always translate to a greater sense of safety, especially if certain incidents, such open drug use, go unreported to police.

"A balanced approach that considers both public health and public safety is critical to reducing the harms associated with substance use," she said.

In 2023, Toronto mother Karolina Huebner-Makurat was fatally shot outside of the now-closed Leslieville supervised consumption site.

That case led to one man being convicted of second-degree murder, one man pleading guilty to manslaughter and a former harm reduction worker being given a conditional sentence for aiding a suspect.

While this study didn't look at homicide rates, it noted a different study had not observed an increase in fatal stabbings or shootings following the implementation of sites across Toronto.

One man, who lived near the Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre that ran a supervised consumption site, said he was trying to sell his house due to feeling unsafe in his neighbourhood.

Jason Schmidt previously told CBC News that the community felt like a "24/7 drug den being enabled by the centre" with open drug use and dealing.

"There's just constant noise, constant fights. Just walking home past people openly smoking meth is disturbing enough," he said.

The province is making “record investments” to help people break free from drug addiction with mental health and wrap-around support, instead of providing tools to use illegal drugs, said Ema Popovic, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health.

She said the province has is spending $550 million to build 28 HART Hubs across Ontario to provide treatment options and supportive housing.