Pubdate: Mon, 09 Nov 2009
Source: Telegraph-Journal (Saint John, CN NK)
Page: C6
Copyright: 2009 Brunswick News Inc.
Contact: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/onsite.php?page=contact
Website: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2878
Author: Jeff Ducharme

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WAR ON DRUGS

Critique: Criminologist Argues That Stings Such As  Operation 
Portland Will Have Little Lasting Effect On  The Supply Of Street Drugs

SAINT JOHN - Called Operation Portland, the six-month  drug sting has 
had an impact on the city's hard-core  drug trade in crack cocaine, 
Dilaudid and OxyContin.  But how long the streets remain quiet after 
such an  operation is always the big question.

Irvin Waller is an Ottawa University professor and  author of Less 
Law, More Order: Truth about Reducing  Crime. The book takes a look 
at where America has gone  wrong in its battle against drugs. He 
believes Canadian  lawmakers and enforcers could also learn from 
the  experiences south of the border.

Police say 48 mid- and street-level drug dealers were  arrested in 
Operation Portland, with 13 of them  receiving prison sentences so 
far. Waller agrees that  the sting will reduce the illicit trade on 
Saint John's  streets, but he argues the drugs will eventually come back.

"It's very clear that the huge investments in  suppression in the 
United States has had very little  impact on the demand and therefore 
the use of illicit  drugs," said Waller, who teaches criminology and 
is  director of the Institute for Prevention of Crime in  Ottawa.

"It probably does provide a short-term lack of crack  cocaine, but 
you're going to see it come back quite  soon," Waller said.

In any police operation, Waller says six months is a  good 
rule-of-thumb to predict when the criminal  activity will return to 
previous levels.

"In this particular case, it may be quicker, it may be  longer. The 
sustained impact is going to be close to  zero."

An anti-drug strategy limited to suppression and  enforcement is a 
no-win strategy, Waller said. Police  and politicians must look at a 
three-pronged approach -  education, treatment and enforcement.

In Saint John, Police Chief Bill Reid took on the  province earlier 
this year to get a methadone clinic  opened in the uptown. Reid won the battle.

"Most of the links between crime and drugs have to do  with getting 
the money to buy the drugs," Waller said.

The cost of drug operations usually exceed the dollar  amount of 
drugs recovered. In Operation Portland,  police recovered $29,000 in 
drugs, $5,000 in cash and  an estimated $5,000 in weapons. At a 
recent press conference, deputy Chief Darrell Scribner said 
the  final figures weren't in, but the cost of the operation  was in 
the six-figure range. "I'm not so worried about,  'Did they spend a 
$100,000 on this,' as 'Do we have the  right balance between spending 
$100,000 on this  particular operation and what we're spending on 
the  treatment programs and the stuff on prevention'?"  Waller said.

Police argue that when you have such large-scale busts,  it disrupts 
the drug trade and smashes the network. But  Waller says the streets 
remain dry until the dealers  can repair the damage. It also drives 
up the price on  the street because it affects the supply.

But it can also have a reverse effect, said Waller.

"If you reduce the supply then the price goes up and  that creates a 
better market for people to move into,  so people move into it."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom