Pubdate: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB) Copyright: 2008 Canoe Limited Partnership Contact: http://www.winnipegsun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503 Author: Paul Turenne A PARK FOR PEOPLE Progress Made, Police Say It wasn't the mother lode of drugs, and nobody's saying Central Park is free of pushers now, but Winnipeg police are calling their recent effort to clean up the downtown park a good first step in reclaiming it for the people. Since the summer, police have been working on what they call the Central Park Revitalization (CPR) project. That came to a head Wednesday night with the arrest of 15 people and the seizure of about $3,000 worth of powdered and crack cocaine, as well as two guns. But police say the partnerships they've formed with community groups in the neighbourhood and the commitment the project shows to cleaning up Central Park are more meaningful than these specific busts. "I'm not saying that we stopped (the drug trade), that it's over," said Insp. Dave Thorne, divisional commander of police district 1. "Our goal here was to deal with Central Park, for people to be able to use a wonderful green space downtown," he said, adding police intend to maintain an increased presence in the park. "There's a fear that when the streetlights go on, everyone goes in." Thorne said the second major component of the CPR project was to better understand Central Park's challenges by forming relationships with groups like the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, the Downtown and West End BIZs and the Manitoba Housing Authority. "I think sometimes we're convinced that (police) know what all the challenges are, but the reality is perhaps we don't. Sometimes we don't listen to the people who live it," Thorne said. "One of the things we want to do is keep on with the relationships we've built." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake