EDMONTON POLICE DEFEND SESSION WITH DRUG ADDICTS

The Edmonton Police Service is investigating a complaint about a new
drug training program where officers observe volunteers who may be
high, but officers defended the program Friday for its awareness and
educational benefits.

The one-day session took place last year on Dec. 2 and involved nine
volunteers -- some of them prostitutes -- who were all known drug addicts.

Acting Chief Mike Bradshaw said a complaint from a third party -- not
any of those who participated -- prompted the investigation.

Bradshaw clarified, however, that they still have total faith in the
program and plan on running it again in the future.

"This is a standard procedure that's been adopted by various police
agencies across Canada," he said, adding that 30 U.S. states have
used the same program in the past.

"I need to stress that drugs were not used during this training
session at the facility. I also have to say that drugs weren't and
never would be provided to the participants."

The Edmonton police partnered with the RCMP in soliciting the Metis
Child and Family Services Society to provide them with suitable
volunteers to meet officers on the society's premises.

The three male and six female participants who came forward were all
drug users who may or may not have been high during the session,
Bradshaw said. They were anonymous and were not promised anything in
return for their participation.

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Wayne Oakes said the sessions give volunteers who
are caught up in the life of drug abuse an opportunity to understand
how it affects them.

"One of the participants lost a family member that was believed to be
a drug-impaired driver," he said.

"When we talk about marginalized people, it gives them an opportunity
to give something back to society."

Oakes added that in 30 years of policing, this is the first time he
has heard of a complaint being lodged over this particular program.

Don Langford of the Metis Society said he agreed to work with law
enforcement on the program because he thought it would educate police
about the many problems faced by aboriginal people and street workers.

"These people are human beings, they have dignity, they are entitled
to self-respect," he said.

"By allowing this interaction to go on, I thought it would build
better relationships and maybe foster a better understanding of our community."

Bradshaw said the basics behind the sessions were introduced in
Canada in 1995. He said they are now part of the Drug Recognition
Expert Training Program, which was examined by a parliamentary
committee last year when the government introduced legislation to
give police forces more power to investigate suspected drug-impaired drivers.

More than 20 officers from city police and the RCMP as well as a
Crown prosecutor participated in the December session.