TEAM TO TACKLE STREET CRIME

The Yukon government will provide the RCMP with $1.4 million over the
next three years to establish a street crime reduction team.

"Our government's priority is to respond to Yukoners' concerns about
substance abuse, its causes and effects," Justice Minister Marion
Horne told reporters this morning.

The initiative is part of the territorial government's Substance Abuse
Action Plan. It will receive $485,000 annually and will be focused on
addressing drug and alcohol crimes on the streets of Whitehorse and
other Yukon communities.

"What it means is that these additional police officers will be
exclusively dedicated to tackle crime hot spots and prolific criminal
offenders on our streets," said Dave Shewchuk, the RCMP's chief
superintendent.

The team will be made up of eight people, with six police officers
focused on enforcement and two civilians working on intelligence
analysis and communications.

The goal will be to dismantle the illicit drug trade in the Yukon at
all levels, said Shewchuk, from those bringing drugs into the
territory to those dealing them. It will also target drug-related
crime, such as theft and alcohol offences like bootlegging, he said.

"(It will be) looking at the small percentage of people who are
committing the majority of crimes in the city," said Insp. Guy Rook,
the RCMP's spokesperson.

The focus of the program is to use intelligence, analysis and
enforcement measures to make the Yukon's streets and neighbourhoods
safer.

The officers may be uniformed or un-uniformed, depending on the
investigation, said Rook. Some circumstances may call for a patrol
presence in a certain area, he said, while others may be more based on
intelligence gathering.

The program is based on a British Columbia initiative which is showing
good results, said Rook.

Planning for the street team is currently underway, and the program is
expected to begin in April 2007.

"Working in partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the
Yukon government is providing the necessary assistance to develop and
establish an enforcement unit that will reduce criminal activity on
our streets," said Horne.

She notified the legislature of the initiative early this afternoon.