DRUG HOUSE BUSTER BOOKED FOR ECHO

An Edmonton police officer with a comprehensive approach for dealing
with drug houses will be speaking in Port Alberni and the West Coast
next month.

Sgt. Maurice Brodeur, creator of the Report A Drug House (RADH)
program, will be appearing at Echo Centre from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on
May 22, at the invitation of the Port Alberni Community Crystal Meth
Task Force.

"We're just setting up an itinerary. He's going to be speaking in a
number of communities," task force member Melody Burton told the Times.

Burton, who read about Brodeur's program and approach several months
ago, subsequently contacted the surprisingly-accessible police
veteran, and discovered he would be willing to visit the Island.

"On Monday, we had a teleconference with Sgt. Brodeur and the task
force, to set up a date," Burton said.

At a previous task force meeting, police chief, Insp. Gordon Wellar,
advised that his detachment would be unable to implement the RADH
program, due to budget constraints, but he and his colleagues would
be interested in meeting their Edmonton counterpart.

"He's not coming here to tell us what to do," Burton said. "He's
going to share his experience, with what has worked in Edmonton. And
his program has been used successfully in other communities -- Grande
Prairie, Alberta for one, but it's also being used in cities in the
United States."

While Port Alberni may not be ready for the RADH full-meal deal on
drug houses, which involves intensive police supervision and regular
visits, as well as organized neighbourhood surveillance, Burton said
Brodeur can pass along a wealth of useful information for communities
- -- especially for neighbourhoods plagued by drug activity.

"There are a lot of things people can do in their neighbourhoods to
be come more aware about drug activity," she said.

Brodeur will speak in Ucluelet on May 21 (time and location to be
announced), then spend the next day in Port Alberni, meeting with
stakeholder groups.

For more information, contact Alberni Drug & Alcohol Prevention
Service (ADAPS) at 724-6166.