VILLE MARIE RESIDENTS UPSET BY INFLUX OF DRUG DEALERS

Robot-Cam Blamed; Video Surveillance Has Just Moved Problem, Citizens Say

A group of residents in Ville Marie borough say they are fed up with
drug pushers moving their business to the residents' doorsteps -
literally - to avoid the prying eyes of surveillance cameras on St. Denis St.

"If they see a cop drive by, they sit on someone's steps," one St.
Christophe St. resident complained.

The man spoke on condition that his name not be published - as did
all others interviewed by The Gazette. They don't want the drug
dealers to know who they are.

Robot-Cam, a pilot video surveillance project, was launched in 2004
in an effort to fight drug crimes on troubled portions of St. Denis.
It was re-launched in 2005 and this year.

According to city police, the cameras reduced drug-related crimes by
30 per cent last year.

The Quebec Access to Information Commission has criticized the
project, however, saying that the invasion of privacy fails to
justify the use of surveillance cameras to curb drug deals.

Many St. Christophe residents said the video-surveillance program has
merely transferred criminal activity from St. Denis to their street a
few blocks east.

The residents say drug dealers use a network of laneways leading to
and from their block between de Maisonneuve Blvd. and Ontario St. to
avoid the police.

One owner of a bed and breakfast said he has lost patrons because
they've witnessed drug deals in broad daylight. He's also come home
to see a dealer sitting on his steps.

"I can't go out at night to smoke a cigarette in any of the three
parks in my area anymore," said a woman who lives on St. Christophe.

Since May, a new gang of dealers has popped up. she said.

"Before, when I went to the park, (the dealers) would leave. Now, I'm
the one leaving the park when they arrive. I don't even want to
approach these guys.

"They're more aggressive and seem more arrogant" than the "small-time
pot dealers" who used to hang around, she said.

Johanne Fradette, spokesperson for CACTUS Montreal, a community
organization that offers a needle exchange program for intravenous
drug users, said the St. Christophe residents' complaints are not isolated.

Although criminal activity in areas served by the Robot-Cam project
has dropped, that does not mean the problem is solved, she said.

Drug users and dealers "will move into residential areas because they
want to be less visible. It's a normal phenomenon," Fradette said.

Many downtown Montreal neighbourhoods share the St. Christophe
residents' concerns, she added.

Sammy Forcillo, a city councillor for the Ville Marie borough, has
lived all 55 years of his life on Visitation St., seven blocks east
of St. Denis.

"I've seen the same problems," he said, but he noted that criminal
activity has dropped in his neighbourhood.

Forcillo conceded that criminals can move from one street to another.

Ten police cadets have been added to the borough's regular patrol
team, he said.

Yesterday afternoon, two police cruisers were parked on St. Andre St.
and one on de Maisonneuve.

The bed-and-breakfast owner said he has no complaints with police response.

"The problem is, the drug deal is done before they get here."