London police officers have engaged the same five people 170 times in the first four months of the force’s crackdown on public drug use, according to a new report.

Chief Thai Truong unveiled his strategy to combat open-air drug use in neighbourhoods stretching from downtown to Old East Village in April, saying business owners and residents in those areas cited rampant drug use as the main factor behind declining public safety in the city.

Officers from the community foot patrol unit are teaming up with mental health workers and nurses to tackle public drug use through a three-pronged approach focused on engagement, intervention and outreach.

Officers have interacted with more than 800 drug users between April 8 and Aug. 25, when there were 2,911 calls for service, with more than h

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