People involved in street level drug dealing, prostitution and petty thefts in Ottawa's downtown core are being targeted by the new Ottawa Police Street Crime Unit.

The unit's eight officers began work in the Byward market, Centretown, Hintonburg and Vanier neighbourhoods last week, targeting crimes — such as bike thefts and car break-ins — which are often committed by drug addicts trying to feed their habits, said Insp. Alain Bernard Monday.

Police say those addicts average four to eight petty crimes a day and that has seriously damaged the quality of life for residents in their neighbourhoods.

Irvin Waller, director of the University of Ottawa's Institute for the Prevention of Crime, said he doubts the new unit will have much effect on Ottawa's relatively high rates of property crime.

He said better treatment and prevention would have a greater effect.

Bernard agreed that enforcement alone won't be good enough.

"We need the treatment centres to really work with these individuals so that when they've hit rock bottom and they want to get off the street, that we can give them the supports necessary," he said.

"It's not good enough to tell a drug addict that he is going to have to wait four months before he gets a bed."

But he added that police have no control over treatment programs, so all they can do while they wait for more to open is to try to shield neighbourhoods from crack's ugliest effects.