DRUG DEALERS FIND NO COMFORT

St. Paul Street businesses have to be impressed with Kamloops RCMP.
They demanded police action Friday and by Monday, they had it.

Businesses between the 100 and 500 block of St. Paul were upset about
a crime wave of drug dealing in their area. They contacted the media
Friday to say the problem was getting out of control. It turns out,
however, police were four weeks ahead of them. Undercover officers had
been on downtown streets identifying drug dealers as part of a sting
called Project E-Proctor.

At a press conference Monday morning, RCMP Insp. Yves Lacasse
announced that when the roundup of suspects is complete, 32 people
will be charged for drug-related offences.

The operation doesn't mean an end to the drug problem in Kamloops, but
it demonstrates proactive policing. The RCMP began an ongoing campaign
several months ago to make life uncomfortable for criminals in town. A
primary focus is drugs.

They've shutdown crackhouses in the city. They've disrupted several
favourite locations for drug dealers to sell their wares and they've
made it difficult for prostitutes and johns to meet without fear of
prosecution.

For too long, police seemed to turn a blind eye to complaints from
neighbours about the drug and sex-trade industry. So long as the
problem was isolated to one area, which primarily was North Kamloops,
only the most obvious offenders were arrested.

Neighbourhoods were unhappy they were not seeing evidence of intensive
RCMP patrols. That perception changed with the arrival of Supt. Jim
Begley and Insp. Lacasse, who realized residents couldn't just be
safe, but also had to feel safe.

They introduced visible policing, which provides the community with a
sense of security. Lacasse makes bold public statements about cleaning
up crime and then he follows through with productive stings.

"What this is going to do is hopefully clean up these areas and
restore a healthy lifestyle for these neighbourhoods for a period of
time," he told reporters last July.

When he announced the latest round of drug busts Monday, he
re-emphasized a continued focus on public safety downtown and the
North Shore. While he is well aware criminal activity will continue
somewhere else, he isn't shy about saying resources will be found to
stay on top of it.

The detachment's commanders recently moved to introduce foot patrols
full-time in the city, a decision that taxpayers have indicated they
support. They've also assigned one officer full-time to keeping
organized crime from becoming a major force in the city. All of this
helps people feel empowered in their own city.

Proactive and visible policing keeps criminals nervous and the
community secure in the belief that the RCMP are actively pursuing
criminals, not complaining they can't do it due to a lack of resources.