CRACK COCAINE LOCAL DRUG OF CHOICE

While crystal meth in Red Deer has generated much publicity, the
local crack cocaine problem is much worse, says a member of the RCMP
Street Team.

"People talk about meth, but it's not an epidemic here, like cocaine
is. I would say 85 per cent of the drugs we're involved with is
cocaine or crack cocaine," said Red Deer City RCMP Const. Kent Dahl.

And not all crack houses are alike. Dahl told members of the
Neighbourhood Watch, a non-profit group focused on decreasing crime
and increasing security in city neighbourhoods, that there are "flop
houses" in which addicts come to do drugs because they would
otherwise have to shoot up or smoke in the street.

And then there are houses in which the owner or tenant was once a
responsible person until some "personal issue" arose leading to a
drug addiction, said Dahl.

This person allows people to use rooms in his home from which to deal
drugs in return for giving the home owner some drugs to fuel his
habit, Dahl added.

"These people prey on the weak and those with personal issues" and
are very hard to evict once they get in, he added.

Police act on tips from neighbours and look up vehicle licences, do
house surveillance and, when evidence warrants, even property
searches. But Dahl said the drug dealers are canny and change their
habits to thwart arrest.

But he strongly encourages neighbours to keep watching and calling
police with descriptions of suspicious people and vehicles.

Never be confrontational with suspects, he warned. "Your safety is
more important to us."

As for grow ops, he said they exist, but are far fewer and usually
easier for police to spot because of the heat needed to grow
marijuana plants. These are houses with constant blinds on windows,
condensation problems and no snow on the roof.