POLICE FEAR MORE GANG VIOLENCE

Police across Saskatchewan say they're worried about increased
violence among street gangs, which are becoming more organized.

Director of the Criminal Intelligence Service Saskatchewan (CISS) and
RCMP Staff Sgt. Bob Bazin said Aboriginal gangs such as the Indian
Posse in Saskatoon and the Native Syndicate in Regina are far more
organized than in the past and are able to branch to other towns in
Saskatchewan and other provinces.

"Unless we can dedicate a lot of resources to this problem -- more
resources than we currently have available -- I think they will
evolve," he said.

"However, if this is an issue where collectively we can resource it
properly and deal with not just the enforcement side of the house but
also the prevention side of the house to convince young people to not
join gangs, I think some positive things can happen from that."

While gangs have found their way into medium-sized cities like Yorkton
and North Battleford, they are also starting to pop up in smaller
towns like Kamsack and Broadview, relying on young men and women from
those towns and the surrounding First Nation reserves as recruits.

He said police are focusing on getting into the communities where
these gangs operate to work with residents as well as intervening with
young people to keep them from joining the gangs in the first place.

Police are also using new legislation to attempt to go after the
assets of gang members, as well as charging members with participation
in a criminal organization.

Last week, five men who are facing charges in the death of 44-year-old
Wayne Friday, were also charged with participation in a criminal
organization. While Bazin didn't know the specifics in that case, he
did say it sheds light on the level of violence happening in the gang
world.

"For the most part we are seeing gang-on-gang (violence)," he said.
"Members within their own gangs going after one another, members of
competing gangs or gang members on independent individuals involved in
the drug trade.

"It's about the message," he continued. "'You don't mess with our
turf, you don't mess with our product, you don't mess with our women.'
Sometimes that message is sent by a beating, other times it's by a
homicide. It's very much about keeping control."

But it's not just gang violence troubling police, it's also occasional
cooperation with large scale operations like the Hell's Angels.

"On occasion some of the more established organized crime gangs will
come to the street gangs for somewhat of a labour pool," he said. "For
the most part the gangs operate within their own but they will go to
other gangs for supply of drugs, movement of contraband and those
types of issues."

This then allows some of the smaller gangs to build themselves up and
establish themselves within a community of their own,making dealing
with gangs a circular process for police. "In a perfect world we'd
love to have enough resources to tackle each and every gang out there."