Regina Police Chief Troy Hagen said the police service has had some success reducing problems outside the Carmichael Outreach centre. (File/CBC)

An inner city charity in Regina that's been dealing with violence, drug dealing and prostitution outside its doors says it's seeing a decrease in illegal behaviour.

In a letter to the Regina police service, the director of Carmichael Outreach says she called police around 50 times one week when people were doing drugs outside.

"I witnessed a number of violent altercations, severe incidences of drug and alcohol intoxication, seizures and other major health related issues due to addictions and illegal behaviours such as narcotic distribution and prostitution solicitation," Danielle Goulden said in the letter.

Goulden said Carmichael prides itself on being an inclusive and respectful environment, but some of the activity was scaring single mothers who come to the centre for programming.

She said the police, whose headquarters is close by on Osler Street, have done a good job cleaning up the area.

"I am happy to report that although we still deal with daily issues relating to addictions etc., we have noticed a marked decrease in vagrancy, violence, public intoxication and illegal behaviour."

Regina's police chief Troy Hagen says officers have an obligation to enforce the law, but they've also been doing what they can to steer some of the problem people into addictions treatment.

"We have discretion," he said. "We're always trying to address the underlying causes and trying to develop some strategies that both assist the individual and also the person that has the concerns."

So far, "it's yielded some pretty good results," he said.