CHATHAM-KENT CITIZEN GROUPS ENCOURAGED IN LOCAL WAR ON DRUGS

Sometime last year, someone in the Dresden area ordered a pizza, but
the person who delivered the order sensed something was wrong when
they arrived at the address.

Something didn't smell right.

Leaving the house, the delivery person followed a hunch and called
police.

Several hours later, after police had obtained a warrant, four people
in the house were arrested and charged with growing marijuana for the
purpose of trafficking.

Police also seized hundreds of plants from what turned out to be a
substantial growing operation - the source of the musty smell that
had aroused the curiosity of the pizza delivery person.

If not for that telephone call, police would not have been able to
make the arrest and remove hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of
marijuana plants from Chatham-Kent's illicit drug trade, 60
representatives from a dozen or so Neighbourhood Watch organizations
were told last Saturday.

"Members of the community can be our eyes and ears," Deputy Police
Chief Dennis Poole told the group, while further quoting Sir Robert
Peel, the father of modern policing: "The public are the police, and
the police are the public."

That relationship between citizen and police was explored as the
Crime Prevention and Safety Board of Chatham-Kent held its first
policing education session.

And in particular, the community's growing drug problem was discussed
as two detective-sergeants with the Chatham-Kent Police Service spoke
candidly about some of the cases they've dealt with, as well as the
relationship they have with organizations such as East Side Pride and
Neighbourhood Watch.

Jeff Teetzel and Dan Graham, members of the police service's drug
enforcement unit, said their job is to "take a good chunk out of the
(drug) problem (in Chatham-Kent)," but they quickly added that they
need help from the community.

The pair spoke about marijuana growing operations in the field and in
houses, about Chatham's large crack cocaine problem, and about the
growing problem of crystal methamphetamine - both as a hideous
narcotic, and as an environmental problem within the communities and
neighbourhoods in which crystal meth is manufactured.

The marijuana growing operation police raided in the Dresden area
last year is an example of some of the work that Teetzel and Graham
do. Any success they have in making arrests comes after a lot of work
and preparation - but tips from citizens and from groups like
Neighbourhood Watch are welcomed.

Teetzel said most houses that harbour a growing operation contain
anywhere between one and 1,500 plants. As a rule of thumb, police
place a value of $1,000 on a single mature marijuana plant - based on
its potential street value.

The growing operations that are conducted behind closed curtains and
blinds are frequently sophisticated, but there are some tell-tale
signs that neighbours can take note of, Teetzel said.

"Usually you'll find that the windows are curtained or blacked out,
and if it's the winter months, you won't see much snow accumulation
on the roof or around the basement walls. These operations throw off
a lot of heat."

Police use heat-measuring devices when they suspect a home or
building might be the location for a growing operation, and Teetzel
said these devices often signal a tremendous amount of heat loss that
is mostly invisible to the naked eye.

Police also have access to utility records and can sometimes isolate
those addresses where an inordinate amount of electricity is being
used.

Craftier growers will steal electricity, however, from neighbouring
houses, so as not to raise any immediate alarm. Two years ago, police
made an arrest at an address in East Kent, where they said they found
that over $70,000 worth of electricity had been stolen to power
lights and equipment for a very sophisticated indoor growing
marijuana operation. That case is still before the courts.

Graham said marijuana cultivation is also conducted in the cornfields
of Chatham-Kent. Once the corn is planted and germinates into a
seedling, growers will secretly begin to cultivate marijuana plants
between the rows. Sometimes they won't return until the fall, to
harvest their crop.

"Some of these guys are so brazen that they'll approach the farmer
and offer him money to use their fields," said Graham. "You'd be
surprised. It does happen."

Teetzel and Graham also discussed crack cocaine and the economics
behind its enterprise. They agreed that it's a big problem in
Chatham, and that its production in the community is so well-known
that dealers from London, Windsor and Toronto are attracted here.

The two cops said crack cocaine in Chatham is starting to become as
common a street drug as marijuana. It's also one of the main reasons
behind the spate of home and car break-ins that have rippled
throughout the community.

"Users have to get their fix and they need money, so they just break
a window in a car looking for loose cash, or they break into a house
or business," said Graham.

"That's the reason why we're having all these crimes. It's drugs and
the need for these users to pay for their habit."

Teetzel said crystal meth isn't as prominent in Chatham-Kent as
marijuana or cocaine, but said its presence is growing.

It's an incredibly dangerous drug, he added, because of its addictive
qualities, and because of the environmental danger its manufacture
presents to neighbours.

"We had a meth lab in Wallaceburg actually blow up, and the guy that
was running it was a trained chemist," said Teetzel. "That's how
unstable and how dangerous these chemicals are, that are used to make
this drug. We have to be very careful as police officers when we go
into one of these labs. You can imagine what kind of danger these
labs present to the community."

Graham added that crystal meth is so addictive that an estimated 95%
of its users were "fully and forever addicted" after using the drug
one time.

"They never get off it."

He said the drug sells for between $100 and $125 a gram, and is
therefore very profitable for the manufacturer. But because meth is
so expensive, users also frequently turn to crime to fulfill their
habit.

"It's not a very pretty drug habit," Teetzel said. "People who are
users will age right before your eyes."