Pubdate: Wed, 29 Apr 2009
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2009 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Jason van Rassel

COST OF GANG WAR TOPS $6M

'It's A Big Number,' Say Calgary Police

Fighting gangs and organized crime in Calgary cost authorities at 
least $6 million last year, and officials say that figure represents 
only a fraction of the real cost.

The dollar figure represents the salaries and benefits of Calgary 
Police Service investigators assigned to the Alberta Law Enforcement 
Response Teams, a group of provincewide integrated units that target gangs.

In 2008, the provincial government contributed $5.4 million and 
Calgary police paid $575,000 for approximately 40 city police 
officers working under the ALERT umbrella in units such as the 
Southern Alberta Gang Enforcement Team, the Southern Alberta 
Marijuana Investigative Team and Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta.

But it's much harder, officials said, to determine how much money 
Calgary police spend internally on day-to-day, front-line efforts 
against gangs.

"Every enforcement option we have has a role in gang stuff," said 
Supt. Roger Chaffin of the criminal operations division.

"That ($6 million) doesn't begin to cover those costs. It's a big number."

Patrol officers conduct traffic stops on gang members, drug and vice 
cases often involve organized crime groups, and many surveillance 
operations target their members -- none of which are covered by the 
$6-million tab that pays for the ALERT units.

"It's almost impossible for us to answer," Chaffin said.

The cost and complexity of gang investigations became evident Monday, 
when city council approved a request by police for an additional $1 million.

The money--which will be taken from a $5-million reserve fund 
designated for the red-light camera program--will pay for a variety 
of policing initiatives, but city officials said the request was 
partially driven by high costs associated with gang investigations 
such as overtime.

Calgary Police Commission chairman Denis Painchaud said 
investigations are becoming more expensive and complex as organized 
crime groups in Calgary increasingly operate outside the city, the 
province, and even outside Canada in some cases.

Police have focused much of their efforts on an ongoing war between 
two Calgary gangs, FOB and the FOB Killers, that has been responsible 
for at least 25 homicides since 2002.

Gang investigators have publicly linked members of the FOB Killers 
with the United Nations gang based in B. C.'s Lower Mainland, and FOB 
is known to have ties with the Crazy Dragons, an Edmonton-based group.

Although the city recently committed$ 25 million to hiring an 
additional 200 recruits, a Calgary criminologist said that boost 
won't have an immediate impact, unlike this week's $1-million 
injection for organized crime and other investigations.

"Police don't have an opportunity to say,'We're going to take six 
months to train 25 new individuals in this area,"said Doug King of 
Mount Royal College. "We should expect when we have flare-ups and 
have increasing gang activity that we have to pay more money to get 
the police to do what we want them to do."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart