CRIMINALS WITHOUT BORDERS

A look of puzzlement didn't cross WVPD chief Kash Heed's face when he
read this recent front-page headline in a national magazine: "B.C.
world crime superpower."

He's known about Vancouver's global rep as a crime hotspot since he
became commanding officer of the VPD's drug section in 2002. As a
major port city connected to main transportation arteries like the
Trans-Canada and I-5 Interstate, British Columbia is globally
positioned as a transnational clearing house for the distribution of
its best-selling cash crop (BC Bud) and other illegal drugs.
"Vancouver is a hub," Heed concedes.

And now, as the bloody war to control that lucrative drug trade
intensifies, spilling into public spaces and across municipal borders
at a disquieting rate, it's become obvious the current policing model
isn't working. Heed has been an outspoken proponent of regional
policing since taking the chief constable job in West Vancouver. A
unified force would help combat gangs and the drug trade, argues the
street-wise cop. Criminals cross municipal borders why shouldn't cops?

"We have to look at a better way of delivering police services across
Metro Vancouver." He calls the current policing template "fractured"
and "balkanized" and says "Crime control has to be the number one area
police need to focus on."

Since arriving in West Van, Heed has embarked on a number of ambitious
objectives. His latest goal: make his community the safest in Canada
by 2011. He acknowledges the fact organized crime gangsters live and
operate on the North Shore. He says police are "monitoring these
figures ... going after them in a proactive fashion."

It's a safe bet Heed will make West Vancouver an even safer community.
But what about the rest of Metro Vancouver? The top cop worries
because his citizens work and play outside the community. And with
gang-related shootouts on city streets becoming more brazen, he's got
plenty to be concerned about.

"It concerns me to the point where I as a police leader must engage in
a discussion about how to address it."

Currently, however, Heed says there are no provincial policing
discussions or forums planned - a fact that surely puts a look of
puzzlement on his face.