Pubdate: Fri, 27 Jul 2012
Source: Peterborough This Week (CN ON)
Copyright: Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing
Contact: http://www.mykawartha.com/generalform
Website: http://www.mykawartha.com/community/peterborough
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1794
Author: Todd Vandonk

POLICE KEEPING AN EYE ON TORONTO'S STREET GANGS

Chief says gang members moving in and out of the city on regular
basis

(PETERBOROUGH) Greater Toronto Area (GTA) gangs are in and out
Peterborough on a regular basis.

They're here to sell drugs and whenever drugs are involved, so too are
guns, says to Peterborough-Lakefield police Chief Murray Rodd.

"We have information that people come into town that are armed and we
have officer safety alerts daily about people that are believed to
have handguns," he explains.

The recent shootings in Toronto prompted Councilor Bill Juby at Monday
night's committee of the whole meeting to ask Chief Rodd if
Peterborough is prepared to handle the possibility of gun violence in
the city.

Chief Rodd says they have arrested Galloway Boys gang members here in
the past. It is alleged members of the Galloway Boys were involved in
an east-end Scarborough street party on July 16 that left two people
dead and 23 others wounded.

Chief Rodd wouldn't speak speifically about the Galloway Boys' members
arrests, but said historically there has been a presence locally of
GTA ethnic crime gangs, street gangs and outlaw motorcycle gangs on a
regular basis.

In November of 2010, three Toronto men and two Peterborough residents
were arrested after a vehicle stop on at Ashburnham Road and Lansdowne
Street and a drug bust at Motel 6. In the arrests, police seized 11
ounces of cocaine worth $33,000, a fully-loaded 45-calibre
semi-automatic handgun, a fully loaded 9-millimetre automatic Tech 9
submachine gun, a 32-calibre semi-automatic handgun, $5,000 in cash,
ammunition and marijuana.

"The intelligence we share with the police agencies across the
province is that people coming in are fully expected to be armed,"
explains Chief Rodd.

He says he fears that there will continue to be more and more guns on
the streets of Peterborough because local drug dealers are threatened
by armed gang members coming into their territory.

"You have to meet the force or defend yourself," he
explains.

So why Peterborough?

Chief Rodd says gangs come because Peterborough is perceived in the
drug world as a potential soft target.a?""For years we didn't have any
investments made in intelligence and drug enforcement," he says.

"As a result of that ... there's a big hole and we're still digging
out of that cycle."

Chief Rodd also notes that there's a big appetite for drugs in the
city and that's why so many players come and go.

"All of that has created an environment that seems to be lucrative and
attractive to these entrepreneurs," he explains.

Chief Rodd couldn't comment on whether or not GTA gangs have
permanently made Peterborough their territory, but says historically
they come to the city and set up a branch plant for short durations at
a time.

"We take efforts to observe them, identify them and track their
activity," explains Chief Rodd.
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