DRUGS FUEL CRIME BOOM

Gangs Growing In Canada

Organized crime and gangs involved in the drug trade are flourishing
in Canada, with nearly 150 new groups added to the national list of
about 800, according to a new report compiled by Canada's law
enforcement agencies.

The report was unveiled in Calgary on Friday, just hours after a man
was gunned down outside a crowded northeast movie theatre, in what
police described as a targeted shooting.

It also comes on the heels of a spate of violence in this city --
including the recent killing of a woman in a seemingly random series
of stabbings that one international expert said had all the markings
of a gang initiation.

The report by Criminal Intelligence Service Canada shows that about
80 per cent of all Canadian crime groups -- about 950 -- are involved
with drugs.

Other crimes groups are making a living off mortgage, insurance,
credit and debit card fraud, and counterfeit goods.

In Calgary, street gangs have the most effect of all organized crime
groups, Chief Jack Beaton said Friday.

They target schools to recruit new members and operate across the
city with no specific turf, he said.

"Gangs also represent a direct threat to the safety of the public
through use of violence and weapons to settle disputes and carrying
out crimes, and their actions are directly tied to the drug trade,"
Beaton said.

Police said they don't believe Friday's shooting was linked to gangs,
but said it might be tied to organized crime. Investigators said the
24-year-old victim -- who survived being shot twice in the head --
was deliberately targeted.

Fortunately, no innocent bystanders were injured. It's not the first
time Calgarians have escaped getting caught in the middle of gang violence.

Bystanders in other cities, however, haven't been so lucky.

"Gang violence, as we've seen, has spilled over into our streets,
resulting, on occasion, of the deaths of innocent bystanders," said
RCMP commissioner and Criminal Intelligence Service Canada chairman
William Elliott.

Beaton said the Calgary Police Service has zero tolerance toward
violence, particularly related to drugs and gangs, but he and other
law enforcement officials admitted making arrests is difficult.

"We need the public to understand they need to come forward to help
us . . . solve these crimes," Beaton said.

Winnipeg Police Chief Jack Ewatski, also the head of the Canadian
Association of Chiefs of Police, agreed, saying public safety is not
just the responsibility of police.

"Information that turns into intelligence is the lifeblood of
policing," Ewatski said.

Through Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, more than 400 law
enforcement agencies work together to gather and exchange
intelligence on organized crime across the country.

Police say intelligence is fundamental in their fight against organized crime.

Few of these groups have elaborate operations; most organized crime
groups are considered "street level" and are known to assist other,
"more capable" groups with their criminal activities.

But the report indicates some of are working together to further
their enterprises.

A similar report by Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta in July
showed gangs and organized crime groups continue to feed drug
problems in communities across the southern part of the province.

Friday's national report showed most large-scale marijuana grow ops
are found in B.C., Ontario and Quebec. Those provinces also serve as
distribution hubs for cocaine.

Ecstasy is generally carried from Canada to the U.S., as well as
Australia and Japan.

And drugs are at the heart of more criminal activity than anything
else. Fights over territory have led to property crimes, assaults and
homicides, the report says.