Pubdate: Sun, 09 May 2004
Source: Interlake Spectator, The (CN MB)
Copyright: 2004 The Interlake Spectator
Contact:  http://www.interlakespectator.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2164
Author: Jim Mosher, Interlake Spectator

STANDING TALL

Peguis Residents Mark Line In Sand Against Drugs

PEGUIS -- A community that stands resolutely against the illicit drug trade 
can win the battle, Ralph Sutherland told an April 28 meeting in Peguis.

Sutherland was born and raised in Peguis, the province's largest First 
Nation community. He would go on to a career in policing, returning to his 
Interlake roots as commanding officer of the Fisher Branch RCMP detachment.

Sgt. Sutherland, while a police officer, is understandably passionate about 
the growing problem with illicit drugs -- cocaine, crack cocaine and 
methamphetamine -- in Peguis, Fisher River, Jackhead and Fisher Branch. The 
dealers must be stared down by communities resolved to stand together, he says.

"It's difficult for one person to stand up and take a stand," he told a 
jam-packed meeting that attracted 200 people to a local gymnasium. "But if 
all the community -- the elders, the band council, the social agencies, the 
young, the old -- stand as one ... the people who are dealing drugs don't 
stand a chance."

Sgt. Sutherland notes this first meeting attracted a fervent new group, 
calling itself Mothers Against Drugs (MAD). This group is "frustrated, fed 
up and angry," Sutherland said.

And police have their own set of frustrations.

Sutherland notes that charging and prosecuting suspected drug dealers is 
difficult because people are often not prepared to come forward.

"What we have found in the past is that many people will call the police," 
the sergeant explains. "But they don't want their name mentioned. 'I don't 
want to go to court,' they say. 'I don't want to testify.'

"That is information, then, that we can't document. We're not able to 
obtain a search warrant [based on what amounts to hearsay.]" That may 
change, as a community's rage turns to a conscious, organized effort to 
eradicate drugs.

"That's what I'm hoping for," said Sutherland. "I am really standing in 
support of this MAD group."

Sutherland says he hopes to work with Peguis band members to conduct 
another meeting. This meeting would feature presentations from an RCMP drug 
expert out of Winnipeg. People need to recognize the signs of drug abuse 
and its effects. In the meantime, Sgt. Sutherland notes the detachment does 
have a drug strategy. Officers have arrested and charged dealers, including 
three earlier this year who were openly selling drugs at Charles Sinclair 
School in Fisher River.

Sutherland says organized crime is likely involved in the recent upsurge in 
drug dealing in the detachment area. He declined to speculate whether 
Native gangs or other street-level crime associations are involved.

The drug problem, in any case, is not unique to Peguis.

"It's becoming more and more prevalent in communities across Canada," 
Sutherland said.
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