Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jun 2003 Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Copyright: 2003 The Edmonton Journal Contact: http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134 Author: Tom Barrett, The Edmonton Journal ORGANIZED CRIME TOLL PROMPTS ALBERTA PLAN FOR SPECIAL POLICE UNIT Province Doubling Existing Budget EDMONTON - The Alberta government will announce today it is setting up a new provincial police unit to combat the growing influence of organized crime. "Not only is the volume of organized crime on the rise, but the complexity and sophistication of the crimes are also increasing," Solicitor General Heather Forsyth said Wednesday. Crime has fallen in Alberta in recent years but organized crime, including bloody public street shootings between rival gangs settling scores and marking territory, has grown. Alberta police forces believe the street gangs involved in public violence are mostly extensions of larger crime groups. They are worried the province's approximately 25 organized crime groups are expanding beyond drug trafficking to running most of the methamphetamine labs and marijuana-growing operations. The gangs are adding money laundering, murder for hire, extortion, immigrant smuggling, credit-card theft, illegal gambling, telephone and Internet fraud and even stock-market manipulation to their illegal activities. Organized crime is spreading beyond Edmonton and Calgary to Red Deer, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and smaller communities. Many break-ins, bank robberies and car thefts are committed by drug users desperate to feed their habit. There is also a social impact. Under the plan to be announced today in Calgary, the province will more than double the $2.4 million it spends each year to combat organized crime and street gangs, sources say. In comparison, the Edmonton police department's budget is about $170 million. Planning for the new police unit was accelerated after a May 5 meeting Forsyth had with senior police officials, including Edmonton police Chief Bob Wasylyshen. Further details about the unit and its budget will be revealed today by Forsyth and police representatives. The new unit will apparently complement rather than replace existing police department branches that investigate organized crime and gangs. The province already spends $2.4 million a year to fund the Criminal Intelligence Service of Alberta. Established in 1999, it collects, analyses and distributes criminal intelligence to Alberta police forces and assesses threat from organized crime. It is credited with significantly improving information sharing between police agencies and supporting numerous major joint operations and investigations other forces. The new initiative was developed with input from Wasylyshen, Calgary police Chief Jack Beaton, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bill Sweeney and Camrose police Chief Marshall Chalmers, who is also president of the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police. Long-term funding of the provincewide unit will be determined in the future, sources said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake