Pubdate: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 Source: Expositor, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2007 The Brantford Expositor Contact: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1130 Author: Briana Dobson DRUGS PROMOTE OTHER CRIMES This letter is in response to Sue McFadden's Oct. 18 letter, "Fighting abuse isn't exciting" regarding Brantford's street crime unit. Sue is interested in determining "why so much money is spent on undercover officers following people around 24-7, watching suspects running errands on the off chance that they might sell crack cocaine." Common sense and good judgment need to be applied to answer this question. Not only are drugs a major contributor (not a cause) of crime, but they destroy the lives of the drug abuser and their associates. The drugs that are being imported into Brantford have had a detrimental effect on some of our citizens. According to this article (and, I would argue, other scholarly sources from around the world), the need for addicts to obtain money to feed their drug habit has motivated them to commit property crimes - the ordinary crimes that McFadden is upset the police are apparently not focusing on. McFadden is right that there is a high percentage of domestic assaults, overcrowded shelters and street kids living off petty crime. But I would argue that one of the major contributors to these problems is the drug trade, and that by targeting one of the root causes, the police are, in fact, combating other crimes as well. I think money should be poured into the street crimes unit so we do not have a female drug addict so in need of a fix, that she has no alternative except to demoralize and demean herself by offering sex acts on the streets of Brantford for $2.50. Briana Dobson Brantford - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman