COLEMAN VOWS NEW MEASURES AGAINST GANGS

Stricter measures are coming to fight organized crime, Solicitor
General Rich Coleman told local politicians and police at a meeting
Monday in Maple Ridge.

But what everyone wants is stricter sentencing to deter drug
trafficking and associated crimes.

"You are all right, we are all frustrated with the criminal justice
system," Coleman said. "The question is, how do we get the court
system to recognize the needs of our community?"

Homelessness and decriminalizing marijuana were other topics discussed
at the meeting, organized by Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MLA Ken Stewart.
Maple Ridge-Mission MLA Randy Hawes also attended the meeting, as did
Maple Ridge Mayor Kathy Morse, Pitt Meadows Mayor Don MacLean, Maple
Ridge-Pitt Meadows-Mission MP Randy Kamp and RCMP Insp. Janice Armstrong.

Armstrong, transferred last year from Surrey RCMP, said Lower Mainland
communities are struggling with drugs. She noted there has also been
an increased level of violence related to organized crime of late,
mentioning two recent shootings. And issues of homelessness are
putting added pressure on limited police resources.

RCMP have been focussing on drugs for the past year, raiding marijuana
grow operations and crystal meth labs, and Armstrong said, "A large
majority of grow-ops are linked to organized crime."

Still, she said, "a very small percentage of growers ever see the
inside of a jail."

It takes 150 hours of police time to dismantle a grow-op, including
court appearances. Just to get a search warrant requires 12 to 13
pages of information outlining probable cause, whereas two to three
pages used to be sufficient.

With all that work, it's demoralizing for officers to see marijuana
growers only get fines, said Armstrong, who said she wants to see
stiffer sentences, especially for repeat offenders.

"We need a criminal justice system that supports what we do."
Armstrong said.

"The criminal element is quite prone to laughing" at the justice
system, Morse said.

She also said homelessness is tied to policing and drug issues, and
asked the minister to conduct a review of support services, such as
the closing of Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam.

"The laws need to be changed," said Kamp, a Conservative MP. "But the
judges can't do it on their own. Someone has to force them." Kamp
asked about support for the decriminalization of marijuana and said a
Liberal government bill to do so is halfway to law in Ottawa, even
though MPs are split on the issue.

Coleman said decriminalizing marijuana would be a "huge mistake,"
warning it could affect business exports and entry to the U.S.

Coleman said about 3,000 to 4,000 grow-ops a year are raided in the
Fraser Valley. About 10,000 a year are raided by police in Whatcom
County, Washington. The difference? "They go to jail in Whatcom County
and pay a fine."

Coleman said decriminalizing marijuana would require a significant
investment in policing to fight organized crime. "And that is not in
this legislation," he said. "We are not seeing that investment from
the federal side."

Coleman said he expects new legislation from the provincial government
this session regarding proceeds of crime, allowing police to seize
assets from criminals. "If you can't prove to us you bought this with
legal money, you don't get it back," Coleman said. "It's a form of
taxation."

He said the provincial government also plans to develop a special
investigation unit, allowing officers to follow a case from beginning
to end. Police in B.C. have conducted separate investigations
involving members of the Hells Angels for weapons and drugs. But "we
never go after the criminal organization," Coleman said. "That's about
to change."

The problem with that, he added, is you end up with an expensive
"mega-trial."

The provincial government is also assembling an integrated police team
to track known sex offenders and protect children from prostitution.
Coleman said the federal government should raise the age of sexual
consent back to 16.

Coleman told Insp. Armstrong that police need to continue raiding
grow-ops, to continue putting criminal files into the court system.
"If you stop doing your job, the system will break down."

About homelessness, Coleman said municipalities need to allow more
"affordable densities."

Regarding Riverview, Coleman said previous governments starting
phasing it out long ago, putting services in communities for when
people came home.

And he encouraged the mayors to reinvest traffic fine revenue in
policing.