BRIT-STYLE POLICING GAINS MOMENTUM

The province is under pressure to let cities try innovative policing
tactics like video surveillance cameras, mandatory drug testing and
to spend much more money to combat underlying social causes of crime.

Surrey council is at the vanguard of the movement and Mayor Dianne
Watts, who led a delegation to Britain this summer to find out how a
35-plus per cent crime drop was achieved there, pushed the premier
Thursday to embrace similar reforms.

"This is the way we have to go," Watts said. "We've seen over the
past 10 years the things that we're doing just simply aren't working
so we've got to make that paradigm shift."

Watts laid out the key planks of Surrey's evolving plan as part of a
panel on policing strategies for civic leaders at the Union of B.C.
Municipalities convention in Victoria.

It concentrates on prevention and deterrence of crime, catching
prolific offenders, rehabilitating them, and reducing public fear of crime.

The ambitious plan would include video camera surveillance of crime
hot spots in Surrey - a smaller scale variation of the thousands of
city-run closed-circuit cameras used to keep watch in London - as
well as possible mandatory drug testing of criminals.

Battling drug addiction is key, she said, because a huge proportion
of property crime is drug-fueled. British gains are coming in part by
immediately requiring those arrested to be tested and then provided
treatment if they're drug users.

RCMP assistant commissioner Gary Bass also estimated 10 per cent of
criminals account for around 70 per cent of crime.

He said RCMP in several pilot communities are now using new methods
and technologies to detect crime trends and bust prolific offenders
and crime clusters - with surprising success.

Residential and commercial break-ins, robberies and car thefts are
all down significantly in Surrey in the first six months of 2006 as a
result, he said, and similar trends are appearing "right around the
province" in other locations where the new crime reduction strategy
is being tried.

"Coquitlam is down 30 odd per cent in a number of categories. Same
with Penticton and Fraser Lake," he said. "I didn't think they would
come down that quickly."

Bass said it's just the beginning of what may be possible.

"There's no significant drug testing tied in yet," he noted. "I'm
starting to think we may actually be able to see some of the results
they're achieving in the U.K."

Watts met the premier Thursday to discuss her plan and public safety
minister John Les praised her efforts, saying she and the province
are "very much on the same page."

Les said the province won't block Watts' plan to set up surveillance
cameras in hot spots, noting cameras are already used in SkyTrain
stations and have been used before in Kelowna.

"I have no objection to that at all," he said in an interview.
"People do take comfort when there is that kind of surveillance. If
there are high-crime areas, let's be imaginative in how we address that."

New technologies being deployed by police include the PRIME
integrated computer network as well as an automatic licence plate
recognition system that can be set to automatically scan passing
plates for stolen cars or prohibited drivers, Les said.

"It can read 3,000 plates per hour and instantaneously register a
hit," he said, adding it has potential to "revolutionize policing."

Watts said much focus is needed on the social side, calling for more
affordable housing programs, mental health programs, treatment
options, employment and education support.

Surrey doesn't plan to work in isolation, Watts said.

"We don't want to push our problems into our neighbours' communities."

While much talk was of a potential crime-busting breakthrough,
government officials also warned the picture isn't all rosy.

Kevin Begg, assistant deputy minister of policing, said a "perfect
storm" is brewing as the aging population hinders officer
recruitment, criminals exploit new opportunities and public and legal
demands for police accountability continue to rise.