Pubdate: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 Source: Aldergrove Star (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Central Fraser Valley Star Publishing Ltd. Contact: http://www.aldergrovestar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/989 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) JOINT FORCES TO FIGHT CRIME Police and academics at two Lower Mainland Universities are teaming up to share information and the latest research on how to best combat crime, Solicitor General John Les announced. "This innovative crime-fighting partnership is the first agreement of its kind in Canada," Les said. "It is an intelligence-based approach that is the future of crime reduction. By giving police the tools they need to attack crime in new ways we will gain the knowledge we need to better allocate police resources and create safer communities across B.C." The three-party information-sharing agreement was signed at the University College of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford. The Centre for Criminal Justice Research on campus has been a leader in research on grow operations and crystal meth in B.C., auto crime, highly recidivistic offenders and crime prevention. A partner lab, the Institute of Canadian Urban Research Studies at Simon Fraser University carries out multidisciplinary research on urban issues and problems in Canada and they are also part of the agreement, along with the RCMP. Using computer technology and expert analysis, criminologists at both campuses will work together analyzing crime data to look at, among other things, the root causes of crime, crime hot spots, and repeat offenders. They will constantly be in touch with their counterparts around the world and will be able to instantly provide police with access to crime reduction techniques from international experts to help identify strategies that will work in B.C. At the same time, RCMP will provide the researchers with their own police data to complete the picture, and ultimately, point the way to reducing crime in the future. "Crime today is much more organized and complex than in the past so we have to fight back with smarter tools," said Bev Busson, RCMP deputy commissioner of the Pacific region and C.O. of "E" Division. "That's why we're putting our heads together and building new alliances to tackle crime with superior knowledge and strong, committed cooperation." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom