Pubdate: Fri, 04 Apr 2003 Source: Penticton Herald (CN BC) Copyright: 2003 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers Contact: http://www.theokanagan.net/penticton/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/664 Author: S. Paul Varga Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) CITY TURNS UP HEAT ON DRUG TRADE Penticton's top cop believes his detachment hasn't done the job it could have been doing when it comes to drug enforcement. But that's already started to change. Insp. Dan Fudge, Penticton RCMP detachment commander, commented on the city's drug enforcement strategy for members of the Penticton Hospitality Association and others at a Breakfast with the Mayor meeting Wednesday. "We've been doing a fairly good job of providing education to grades 5 and 6 with the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) about the dangers of drug abuse," said Fudge. "We view it as another tool in the toolbox of enforcement. "But on the supply reduction side, we have dropped the ball on drug enforcement . . . other initiatives have put drug enforcement on the back burner. I'm embarrassed to say we have not done the job we should have done." Fudge told his audience Penticton police have seen problems with cocaine, crack, crystal meth, marijuana and, to a lesser extent, heroin. Most prevalent are the marijuana grow-operations. Despite a more liberal view of marijuana in Canada, he said they are a major problem. "Lots of drugs from here go south," said Fudge. The United States, he said, has more of a dim view of marijuana, but "there is direct evidence of marijuana being exchanged for cocaine." Mayor David Perry introduced the topic at the breakfast meeting and later said the initiative was coming straight from his office. "I believe we can form a partnership to deal with this," said Perry. "It's not simply an enforcement issue, it's a societal issue." And society will need to be involved in solving the problem, said Tina Head, manager of the community policing services unit. She will be working on the police initiative with the Community Partnership on Drug Enforcement, a group of community members and organizations. "None of us are naive. We know it won't eradicate drugs, but we can have a serious impact," said Head. "Today, and over the next few months, we'll be reinforcing the message that drugs are not welcome and none of us will stand for them." One of the strategies the police have already worked on in conjunction with community partners is to put pressure on "places of particular interest" -- areas, neighbourhoods or even just particular apartment buildings where the police are asked to attend several times a day. In the case of motels which have become havens for drug abuse and drug trafficking, the police are working on a strategy with agents from the liquor distribution branch and the Ministry of Human Resources, and with public health officers to put pressure on the motels to clean up their act. The first course of action, said Head, is to contact the motel owner, a move which paid off with one of the worst motels in Penticton. "The owner was quite co-operative," said Head, explaining the police delivered a "welcome wagon" to the tenants which consisted of a stern warning and has led to evictions. Those names were put on a "list of undesirables" which was then sent out through the hospitality agencies to prevent those people from resurfacing in another location. The strategy also includes helping the motel owner understand it's in his own best interest to get names and identification of his tenants, and to log licence plates and dates of birth in his own records. Plastic signs have also been placed in all the motel rooms to further drive home the message. They state: "Welcome to Penticton . . . this facility has a zero tolerance for drug use and sales." But while the motel was the first location, Fudge said it wouldn't be the last. They will be tackling other motels, and then going after homes in residential areas in the same manner. - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl