Pubdate: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 1999 The Province Contact: 200 Granville Street, Ste. #1, Vancouver, BC V6C 3N3 Canada Fax: (604) 605-2323 Website: http://www.vancouverprovince.com/ Authors: Ian Austin and Gordon Clark, Staff Reporters The Province CALL TO ARM SKYTRAIN COPS Report Says They Need Weapons To Fight The Drug Trade SkyTrain needs special armed cops to battle the growing drug trade, says a report released yesterday. And Attorney-General Ujjal Dosanjh, who released the report, said he'll go along with it if that's what the people want. The report says the unarmed SkyTrain security guards now in place are powerless to deal with the mushrooming drug trade. "A consistent complaint of the public and SkyTrain passengers is the level of drug trafficking which operates by and large unchecked at stations," says the report by the Justice Institute of B.C., the provincial police services division and retired Vancouver deputy police chief Ken Higgins. "A large number of people use this transit system and have few physical barriers between them and 'undesirables.' The fact that TransLink security is not empowered to fight drug crime adds to the public's sense that SkyTrain is a dangerous place to be." A special corps of armed transit cops in Vancouver would likely be a first for Canada. No armed guards patrol the transit systems in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal. Those cities, like Vancouver, summon their police departments to deal with specific serious offenders. TransLink rates the four worst SkyTrain stations for drug dealing as: - - Metrotown - - Broadway - - Surrey Central - - New Westminster The speed with which criminals can escape from authorities by boarding the train has earned it the moniker CrimeTrain. The report says criminals can also move their operations if one community decides to crack down on drugs, as New Westminster and other communities have tried with mixed success. "The most pressing law enforcement need on the SkyTrain is drug enforcement," it states. "When a single jurisdiction tackles the problem, it merely shifts along the line." Dosanjh said armed police will be dispatched if that's the request of municipalities, police and SkyTrain. "I think the thrust of the report is there needs to be a dedicated unit policing SkyTrain," he said. Liberal leader Gordon Campbell questioned the need for another police unit. "I don't think that we should create a new bureaucracy," he said. "I would only support that if the local police chiefs support that." There are now 42 SkyTrain security guards. The report says the new unit might concentrate on serious crime, while regular security guards could deal with the relatively minor incidents of fare evasion. "The public and offenders seem to react more co-operatively to full police constables," it states. "It is open to further research, however, whether a complement of 42 peace officers is required for this duty, and whether other members of TransLink security could be involved with fare enforcement." In Montreal last summer transit guards asked to be allowed to carry pepper spray, but were turned down. Critics said that equipping transit officers with firearms would be asking for bloodshed - and not just of suspects - on the city's trains and stations. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D