ALLEN WELCOMES MORE POLICE FUNDING

Minister Wishes To See Funding Directed At Getting Tougher On Organized
Crime And Drugs

Will millions in federal funding translate into more police patrolling
the Valley?

A provincial policing committee and the Liberal government will meet
next month to determine how to use the $8.8 million the federal
government has injected into New Brunswick to fight crime.

The federal Conservative government announced last week that the $400
million placed in the new Police Officers' Recruitment Fund, a third
party trust fund for new policing initiatives, will mean $8.8 million
for New Brunswick over the next five years.

That $8.8 million should mean an additional 50 to 60 police officers
on patrol throughout the province, stated Tobique-Mactaquac MP Mike
Allen.

"The $400 million has been put into a trust and it is up to the
provinces to determine how to tap into the money. There is flexibility
for the province to do what they need to do to get the police on the
streets. This should represent 50 to 60 new police officers in the
province."

Allen said the large rural riding of Tobique-Mactaquac should see a
greater police presence because of the funding and increased border
patrols.

"Minister (John) Foran is starting his consultations on how he is
going to do this. Because we are a large rural area policed by the
RCMP, that will mean more officers and there is potential for more
police on the border issues. There is also the municipalities that are
certainly interested in tapping into that on a municipality basis as
well."

Allen said the whole idea is to get more police on Canadian streets,
and having adequate police protection and enforcement is an important
issue in his riding.

"There is a lot of concern about youth crime and the Youth Criminal
Justice side of things. There is a lot of property crimes,
trespassing, damage to property. There are some serious concerns about
criminal behavior and some serious concerns to put some deterrence in
there and more police presence . It is amazing to see the amount of
damage in property crime that we have had in the last number of years.

People are concerned about losses and their security."

Allen said Tobique-Mactaquac has a large number of seniors and
residents with disabilities, and these residents want to feel safe.

"We are going to be measuring the performance (of the additional
police funding). But how the province achieves that will be a decision
for the province to decide," Allen stated.

Public Safety Minister John Foran said he will consult the Strategic
Policing Advisory Committee, a committee including RCMP members,
municipal and regional police representatives and public safety
officials before any decision is made on the funding. The committee
will meet within the next month.

"I am certainly pleased with the announcement, $8.8 million for
policing in the province is certainly significant to us. It will allow
us to enhance our policing services," Foran stated in a phone
interview. "All levels of government, the federal, provincial and
municipal have to work together to combat the effects of crime. We all
have policing jurisdictions."

Foran said the committee will look at the best way to invest the money
into policing initiatives, and he wouldn't comment on specific
policing projects until the committee makes their decisions.

"We ran in the last election specifically to get tough on organized
crime and drugs. I would hope that strategic policing committee would
have a strong view on organized crime and drugs."

Foran said the province and municipalities spend about $100 million
annually to police the province, and the extra funding will be a
"significant boost" for New Brunswick.

"There is no specific time frame to launch these changes, we're only
getting one shot at this and we want to do it right. The
municipalities and the province will be assuming any additional costs
once the program is completed."

The public safety minister said he wants to see New Brunswick get
tough on organized criminals and drugs.

"We have about 60 organized crime groups in the province, and a lot of
their trade is drugs. Through technology and integrated units of
combined RCMP and municipal officers, I will wait for the strategic
committee to tell me how to reach those goals. But this is all about,
at the end of the day, when it comes to drugs and organized crime I
want to see more people prosecuted and of course found guilty."

"Organized crime and illegal drugs know no boundaries. If we are to be
successful in protecting our citizens from their affects, all levels
of government must work together. I compliment the Government of
Canada for investing in our police forces and the safety of New
Brunswickers."