When I first heard they wanted to close Rio Grande Street to traffic, I thought they meant only to close it to vehicles. Turns out, they will fence it off, entirely. No more foot traffic if you aren't one of the homeless.
I can see the wisdom in this. If you take away the opportunity for crime, you take away the crime. If the drug pushers cannot access the homeless, they cannot sell to them. If you separate the sellers from the buyers, the drug market dies.
At least at that location. At least to the homeless who stay within the prescribed quarters. And, there is the rub. As soon as the homeless venture far enough away, they are vulnerable. So, consider this: Some of the homeless have some desire to steer clear of drugs. If they run into drugs, they are tempted. But, keep them removed from the drug scene, and you do them a favor.
Other homeless want the drugs, and will leave the shelter to seek them out. So, if you want to find your drug pushers, you simply follow the homeless when they leave. For all we know, this is how the police made their big raid the other day.
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