STRATHCONA'S TOP COP CONCERNED ABOUT DRUG-RELATED CRIME

New RCMP Inspector Has Worked In Edmonton Area For Past Decade

SHERWOOD PARK -- The wide boulevards and bungalow-lined crescents of
Sherwood Park look peaceful enough, but the new man in charge of the RCMP
detachment sees things that need to be fixed.

"We have known gang members driving through our area all of the time,"
Insp. Gary Steinke says.

"Everybody knows persons involved in gang activity in Edmonton don't stop
when they cross over the border into Sherwood Park."

He's also concerned with a recent increase in break-ins, many related to
the methamphetamine scourge hitting most communities.

"A lot of the small, petty crime is feeding the drug habit," he says.

Steinke was promoted to inspector in December, replacing Staff Sgt. Lee
Findlay, the acting officer in charge of the Strathcona County detachment
for the past 18 months.

Before taking his new job, Steinke had been the staff sergeant in charge of
operations for Sherwood Park and Strathcona County.

"It's not like I'm brand new here," he says. "I've been in the Edmonton
area for the last nine or 10 years."

Despite the challenges, Steinke doesn't want to paint too bleak a picture
of Strathcona County's crime problems.

"I don't want to minimize the impact of the break-and-enter problem in
Strathcona County," he says.

"But when you compare our community to other communities, we are still on
the low ebb."

Steinke, 48, grew up in Dawson Creek, B.C. He graduated from the University
of Victoria with a degree in history and psychology and started his career
with the RCMP in 1980, with a posting in Beaverlodge in northwest Alberta.

"I always thought I would join the RCMP," he says. "It's one of the most
interesting career choices you can make, because when you wake up in the
morning you never know what you are going to face."

Steinke worked in Red Deer before moving to the Edmonton, where he was a
member of the drugs, homicide and intelligence units.

"We're not just gravel road cops," he says. "I think our training is second
to none and as a police agency we are on the cutting edge of technology."

When he's not working, Steinke trains as a triathlete. Early every morning
he commutes from the St. Albert home he shares with his wife and son to
spend an hour on the detachment's treadmill.

"I place somewhere in the middle of the pack and that's OK," he says.

Steinke takes over a detachment that lost two members in the past couple of
years. Ghislain Maurice was on duty when he was killed in a highway
collision and dog handler Jim Galloway was shot to death in a standoff.

"It's been very painful for the detachment," he says. "But by the same
token, I think it's built stronger relationships."