ELECTION 2006: DRUGS FUELING LOCAL CRIME

Peterborough police Sergeant Steve Streeter is seeing more reports of
street robberies.

"It's pretty brazen, in some cases," says Sgt. Streeter.

"The whole element of whether or not you get caught seems to be
secondary. It kind of speaks to desperation."

Last week, Shoeless Joe's, Champs and the Puck n' Pint restaurants
reported daytime thefts in which the suspect walked in and stole cash
from the office without being noticed.

Police used video surveillance from one of the restaurants to
identify the suspect. When officers went to arrest him they also
found almost 26 grams of crack cocaine; enough to warrant a trafficking charge.

"People we arrest for robberies almost invariably have drug
problems," says Sgt. Streeter.

He adds that crack cocaine is a drug police are seeing more and more
of on local streets. Some people in the community see it more, too.

Kevin, 28, works in the criminal justice system and asked that his
last name be withheld. He has lived in Peterborough all his life, but
currently works in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and says he's
noticed more "crackhead-looking" people on the streets of Peterborough.

"But drugs are always going to be a problem," he says.

"What can you do?"

Kevin partly attributes the problem to expansion of the GTA.

"Ten years ago, drugs in Scarborough moved to Oshawa," he says.

"Now Oshawa drugs are moving to Peterborough."

Sgt. Streeter says there aren't statistics on what percentage of
those charged with drug-related offences are city residents. He does
say that there doesn't seem to be many criminals from the GTA coming
here to commit crimes.

"If there is a linkage [between crime here and GTA expansion] it's
through drug connections," explains Sgt. Streeter.

The number of cocaine charges - including possession and trafficking
of crack cocaine - have almost more than doubled in two years. In
2004 there were 14 cocaine-related charges, and in the past eight
months there have been 30. That's about six per cent of all criminal
charges reported this year.

Sgt. Streeter says an increased presence of drugs on the street,
wherever they come from, means more crime on the streets.

Break and enter charges from January to August of this year are up 55
per cent compared to last year. Thefts from vehicles during the same
time period are up 40 per cent.

That's not to say all crime is on the rise. Violent crimes have
decreased in the past year and so have assaults - and domestic
violence still makes up about a quarter of total assaults.

Katie Allison, 21, is a third-year Trent University student. She
doesn't worry too much about her safety on Peterborough's streets.

"I don't pay attention," she says.

"I'm from a small town, and I generally am with a big group when I'm
out at night. But it's not something I really think about."

Jim Pezoulas sells hotdogs at the corner of George and Simcoe
streets. He doesn't think there's a real crime problem in the city.

"Sure, it's escalating steadily over the years, but that's
everywhere. It's not a big problem here."

It could become more of a problem.

Sgt. Walter DiClemente says that in his nearly 30 years on the force,
he's only now seeing prostitution charges in Peterborough.

"There are complaints about females actually working the [street]
corner," says Sgt. DiClemente. "We've never seen that here before."

He says prostitution is usually linked to drugs in the same way as a
break and enter or street robbery; all are quick ways to get drug cash.

Rob Curson, 43, says he sees drugs in the community every day. He
thinks police should do more to stop drug trafficking in the city.
Mr. Curson was recently charged for stealing juice from a grocery
store, and says he's frustrated to have to deal with the criminal
justice system when he sees worse happen everyday.

"I know where they are and what they sell," he says.

"I see drug dealers in my neighbourhood getting away with it, mostly
selling crack and pills."

Mr. Curson has four children, ages four to 11. He says his oldest
knows about drugs because they're all around him.

"He could tell you what a gram of marijuana costs, what crack costs,"
says Mr. Curson.

"He knows all about drugs."

Both Sgt. DiClemente and Sgt. Streeter say drugs is a community problem.

"Police are actively involved in crime prevention," says Sgt. DiCelemte.

"We have a good relationship with school boards, and we have
full-time officers there doing drug and crime prevention work with
youth and students. The police are only as good as the information
they receive."

But police can't do too much for those who already have drug
problems, addicts who commit crimes to support their habit. Only the
court can impose treatment on someone who has committed a
drug-related offence. And between the time of arrest and the hearing,
these people often re-offend. Eliminating the root causes is more
difficult. Donna Rogers, executive director of Four Counties
Addiction Services Team (FourCAST), says that addiction to crack
cocaine is difficult to manage.

"For the most part, clients see us on a voluntary basis. The people
who show up for treatment don't represent the users out there."