Pubdate: Sat, 08 Apr 2006
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2006 Calgary Herald
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Emma Poole
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?241 (Methamphetamine - Canada)

LETHBRIDGE POLICE COMBINE EFFORTS TO STEM GANG CRIME

Illicit Activity Spills Over From Bigger Cities

LETHBRIDGE - A joint-forces unit formed to track and collar 
gun-runners, drug dealers and organized crime groups is up and 
running in Lethbridge.

The group, called the Lethbridge Integrated Intelligence Unit, was 
launched in February with the goal of cracking down on spill-over 
crime from bigger cities like Calgary.

"Because criminals don't respect borders they travel a great distance 
to ply their wares," said Lethbridge Regional Police Service Chief 
John Middleton-Hope.

Made up of officers from the Lethbridge police and Lethbridge RCMP, 
the team shares information and co-operates on high-priority files in the area.

The information gathered will be shared with the Criminal 
Intelligence Service Alberta, a central bureau which collects and 
distributes information on crime trends among Alberta's law 
enforcement agencies.

Middleton-Hope said organized crime groups are functioning in 
Lethbridge, mainly dealing drugs such as cocaine, crack cocaine, 
marijuana, and methamphetamine.

The spinoff effect from those crimes include stolen property, 
escorts, exotic dancers, identity theft, fraud, internet crimes, 
counterfeit money and money laundering.

Middleton-Hope said the area, with it's 15,000 post-secondary 
students, is prime territory for drug dealers.

"There's a significant resource base that you can leverage," he said.

The big-city crime trend hasn't gone unnoticed by the city's Mayor Bob Tarleck.

"There are issues that obviously spill over here. People used to 
boast that they didn't have to lock their doors. Those days are 
gone," said Tarleck.

"I'd be naive to not think the tentacles of organized crime in 
Calgary and Vancouver don't reach here, because they do."

According to the police service's 2006-2008 strategic plan, the 
creation two years ago of the north and south Integrated Response to 
Organized Crime teams -- known as IROC -- pushed outlaw motorcycle 
gangs, Asian gangs, and aboriginal gangs to the smaller cities.

"It's created a displacement. It's moved from major centres to 
smaller and mid-size centres. In large part there's a perception that 
crime doesn't happen outside Calgary," said Middleton-Hope. "We have 
a number of drug traffickers in this area."

The integration of officers from various policing agencies will help 
law enforcement maximize its crime-fighting power, he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom