ORGANIZED CRIME TASK FORCE NEARS REALITY: EWATSKI

A joint police task force designed to target organized crime -- two years
in the making -- is close to being approved by Manitoba Justice Minister
Gord Mackintosh.

And Winnipeg Police Chief Jack Ewatski said yesterday the new unit will
help put a greater focus on drug rings that supply the city's crack-cocaine
trade.

"Ideally, what we want to do is put organized crime out of business,"
Ewatski said. "We want to make Manitoba and Canada the worst place for
organized crime to operate."

Ewatski outlined plans for the new service under questioning from Coun.
Garth Steek during a meeting of the civic protection and community services.

Steek (River Heights) was reacting to an article in yesterday's Free Press
on the city's growing crack-cocaine trade, and police frustration in
targeting drug gangs when they're short manpower and confronted by lax
penalties for traffickers.

"There is growing unrest in the community with what is happening here,"
Steek said. "It's time we declare war on crime, pure and simple."

Steek introduced a motion that revenue from photo radar fines -- when
they're approved by the Doer government -- go toward paying for the task
force, estimated to be about $10 million over three years.

The original proposal for an organized crime task force was announced in
April 1999 by RCMP brass and justice minister Vic Toews. Winnipeg police
were conspicuously absent at that time.

Ewatski said Mackintosh is now looking at a revised business plan that
would bring together officers from the city force, RCMP and Brandon Police
Service under one roof to combat all levels of organized crime.

While the proposal has been before the province for about two years, it has
recently picked up steam with the arrival of the Hells Angels motorcycle
gang in Manitoba. It would be responsible for investigation and enforcement
against organized crime activities, like drug trafficking, theft, fraud,
prostitution and cyber crime.

"Everyone is in agreement a case can be made to put together such a service
in Manitoba," Ewatski said. "We are all singing from the same song sheet."

Ewatski did not want to comment on how much the new service would cost, or
how many officers would be assigned to it, although it's believed 15 to 20
officers would be deployed.

"We certainly don't want to document and open up our tactics to the bad
guys out there," he said.

Ewatski added part of the unit's funding could come from money taken away
from convicted criminals under the proceeds of crime law.

"We cannot do this with existing resources," he said. "It has to be
sustainable."

Ewatski said the new task force would be based on the organized and serious
crime strategy developed by police services and government in Alberta in
1998 and now operated by the Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta.

In that province, the unit is responsible for investigating and combating
all kinds of organized crime, from Asian-based criminals involved in credit
card fraud to Eastern European-based criminals specialized in stealing
luxury cars. The Alberta service also probes outlaw bikers, firearms and
hate-related crime, Colombian-based cocaine traffickers, migrant smugglers,
Internet child stalkers and eco-terrorists.

It was set up with almost $8 million funding and gets $2.5 million annually
from the Klein government.

Ewatski added the sooner Mackintosh gives his blessing for the new service,
the better.

"Organized crime is not something that is going to go away soon," he said.