ORGANIZED CRIME IN NEW BRUNSWICK NOT ETHNIC BASED -- RCMP

Organized crime has a foothold in New Brunswick, says the RCMP
officer in charge of criminal operations for the province.

But Chief Supt. Wayne Lang said people shouldn't change the way they live.

"People shouldn't be so naive as to think that we do not have
organized crime in the province," he said in a recent interview.
"Should they be concerned? I would say yes. Should they be afraid to
walk the streets of New Brunswick? Absolutely not."

The Criminal Intelligence Service New Brunswick in its 2006 annual
report revealed that more than 50 organized crime groups were
operating in the province in 2005/06, with the majority of New
Brunswick groups being independent or local drug-based organized
crime groups, not ethnic-based criminal groups.

Earlier this year, RCMP said it was investigating a possible
organized crime link following raids in the Fredericton area that
resulted in a number of arrests and the seizure of about 500
marijuana plants capable of producing 100,000 joints.

"When we think of organized crime, we always think of terms like the
mafia and we all have visions of what that means," Lang said.
"Organized crime is really just criminals getting together and
working together to commit crimes."

Lang said the majority of organized crime groups that concern the
RCMP are involved in drugs in some capacity.

But that doesn't mean they stay out of other activities, he said.

"Organized crime is involved in illicit activity for the purpose of
making money. They do not restrict themselves to one commodity. They
may be involved in smuggling contraband (and) they may be involved in
smuggling firearms, but there would be very few organized crime
groups in this province that didn't have some type of drug connection."

Lang said one of the biggest things RCMP are concerned about is the
misuse of prescription drugs in the province.

He said the force is working with the New Brunswick Association of
Chiefs of Police on the issue and seizures and arrests are being made.

Fredericton Police Force Chief Barry MacKnight, who heads the
association, said progress is being made with regard to the
prescription-drug issue. He said the government is moving towards
legislation that would support a prescription-drug monitoring program.

That would make it more difficult for people to go to multiple
doctors in search of prescriptions, he said.

MacKnight said organized crime is an issue throughout New Brunswick,
including Fredericton, where much of the activity is centred around drugs.

Lang said police usually focus on organized crime groups based on the
potential harm they can cause a community. That's a process decided
upon among the various law enforcement agencies in the province.

"We're doing it with some success," Lang said.

"It's a fairly structured process and is something that we're very
proud to talk about when we gather at a national level with other law
enforcement agencies. I think we are the envy of most provinces to be
able to have the close co-operation with all your partners is quite
an enviable position to be in."

Lang said if the average New Brunswick citizen was consulted,
however, it's unlikely that organized crime would top his or her list
of concerns.

More concern would be expressed over matters such as police
visibility, their ability to stop thefts and vandalism, and their
desire to battle street-level drug trafficking, he said.

Michael Boudreau, an associate professor with the department of
criminology and criminal justice at St. Thomas University, said
organized crime can mean many things and that's why it's important
for the RCMP and other police forces to get the message out as to
exactly what they mean by organized crime.

One area where people should be vigilant about is identity theft, he said.

"It is something people should be made a little more aware of because
it is one of those crimes that individuals can help prevent
themselves by not giving out personal information," Boudreau said.

According to Phone Busters, the Canadian anti-fraud call centre, New
Brunswick had 67 complaints of identity fraud in 2006, representing a
loss of $92,396.07.