FLUID GANG SCENE ELEVATES THE GAME

Ever More Sophisticated Tools Aim To Keep Criminals
Off-Balance

A B.C. court ruling that strikes down a section of Ottawa's anti-gang
law may seem like a setback in fighting organized crime, but it won't
cause the Calgary Police Service to skip a beat.

In a recent ruling, Madam Justice Heather Holmes of the B.C. Supreme
Court quashed section 476.13 of the Criminal Code (which defines who
is a member of a gang) because it was too vague. She queried
hypothetically, would a martial arts instructor giving lessons to gang
members be part of the group and face prosecution? The RCMP says the
ruling gets in the way of the fight against organized crime. However,
in Calgary, the three-year-old law has never been essential to the
work of frontline officers.

Calgary police do not wantonly target karate instructors -- they go
after real criminals for real crimes. Officers make arrests on charges
that will stick; they only use the anti-gang law when they consider
whether to lay additional charges. Attempting to secure a conviction
on the basis of gang membership alone would be fruitless; perpetrators
must be linked to an actual crime.

In a meeting with the Herald editorial board this week, police Chief
Jack Beaton explained how the new Organized Crime Operations Centre
has improved co-ordination of investigations. Rather than having
officers operate in silos, conducting numerous investigations against
the same people for different crimes, the OCOC acts as a clearing
house of information to help target efforts in order to improve the
likelihood of convictions.

Since its inception in July, the force has arrested 56 people on 158
charges, and seized $61,000 in cash and $338,000 worth of drugs.

Considering the force estimates the size of organized criminal
activity in the city to be centred around a core of 100 active
criminals and 300 associates, this number of busts is expected to be
disruptive.

That's what the police are aiming for. Beaton came under fire in
September when he confirmed organized crime is here to stay. "If you
look at other cities . . . nobody has been successful at stopping gang
activity. So I think our job is to disrupt and disband them as much as
we can," he said at the time.

Part of the problem for police is organized crime is becoming
increasingly less organized. Although there are structured crime
families operating throughout Canada, including Calgary, crime is
being perpetrated by increasingly fluid street gangs -- where
criminals come together temporarily for a specific purpose then
disband. (Think Ocean's 12 rather than the Sopranos.)

Plus, Calgary's economic prosperity is allowing criminal activity to
become more entrenched, since high disposable incomes permit middle-
and high-income earners to indulge more in illegal vices.

The public can take comfort in knowing the Calgary Police Service
takes its approach to organized crime seriously. However, as long as
there remains a high demand for drugs -- the major profit centre for
organized crime -- the criminal element will always be on hand to
provide a ready supply.