PUBLIC HELPING SNUFF OUT MARIJUANA GROW OPERATIONS

Good old-fashioned police work, combined with increasing co-operation
from crime-prevention groups and the public, is being credited for a
number of recent successes in the battle against marijuana grow
operations and contraband tobacco in the Fredericton area.

Insp. Mike O'Malley, the commander of RCMP District 2 in Oromocto,
said partnerships with groups such as Neighbourhood Watch, along with
a number of community-based initiatives, have combined to give police an edge.

"It's about community mobilization," O'Malley said.

"We go in and we meet with the community and find out what they feel
their most pressing problems are, what the causes of those problems
are and talk about solutions."

Since January, District 2 RCMP has raided targets in various areas
throughout the district, which stretches from Chipman to McAdam.

Various marijuana grow operations have been shut down and hundreds of
plants capable of producing tens of thousands of pot cigarettes have
been seized. Thousands of dollars in cash, along with other drugs
such as cocaine and Dilaudid have also been seized.

"Basically, we have taken one target a month and eliminated the
target," O'Malley said.

"We have focused on the target, we've successfully arrested and
charged that target. We eliminate the target and then we move down on
the list."

Once the serial criminals are identified, focus can be placed on them, he said.

"It's based on the premise that 70 per cent of the crime is committed
by 30 per cent of the criminals," O'Malley said in an interview. "If
we can start chipping away at that 30 per cent, it is going to have a
significant effect on reducing our crime."

The district will be hiring a full-time crime analyst this month.

The Crime Stoppers organization and the addition of more resources
has also contributed to recent successes.

Mel Vance of the Oromocto West Neighbourhood Watch program said the
RCMP has been co-operative.

"They have been open on how we can do certain things and what we can
do to make it better," Vance said. "They have (also) been open to the
fact that if we have to go back to them for assistance, the
assistance is certainly there waiting for us."

The secret to making Neighbourhood Watch successful and helping
police in the process is for everyone to know their neighbours and to
take care of each other if someone is going away, Vance said.

"As far as working with the RCMP, I think it's been great."

Provincially, the force has also had successes, said Chief Supt.
Wayne Lang, the officer in charge of criminal operations for J Division.

Much of that success has come from partnering with other law
enforcement agencies.

"We've worked in an integrated fashion, targeting some of the more
serious criminals in the province," said Lang. "This ties into what
we are trying to do with our crime-reduction strategy."

District 2 RCMP, meanwhile, has also been partnering with other
agencies in endeavours such as roadchecks.

With the addition of a dedicated traffic unit in the district, the
number of roadside checkpoints has also increased.

Roadchecks and other actions by RCMP and its partners have resulted
in thousands of contraband cigarettes being seized.

A check stop earlier this month resulted in 25 seizures of contraband
tobacco under provincial and federal acts and three arrests.

"What we are finding is not only Motor Vehicle Act offences, we are
also getting the tobacco seizures," O'Malley said.

"We're getting drugs, we're getting firearms, we're getting money.
Because criminals travel, and by doing more traffic enforcement, we
are going to detect more criminals."