PILOT PROJECT TARGETING DRUG DEALERS

PORT McNEILL - An RCMP pilot project is reducing crime in Port
McNeill detachment area.

Port McNeill is one of two Vancouver Island detachments trying the
Crime Reduction Strategy in their communities. After a year, Sgt.
Lyle Gelinas says it is working.

The strategy targeted four areas: drug dealers, alcohol abuse,
monitoring domestic violence and those who have been issued
conditions or warrants.

"We've executed five search warrants for drugs, in addition to
several personal possession charges related to purchasing drugs,"
says Gelinas, who adds that nine people, including two women, were
arrested in the five drug busts.

"The community has been very helpful, says Gelinas. "It's obvious
people don't want this kind of activity in the community."

Dealing with alcohol problems has been one of education and
enforcement, says Gelinas.

"We've been concentrating on those abusing liquor laws, drunk in a
public place, drinking in public, causing a disturbance while drunk,"
says Gelinas. "The time between the education and the enforcement
differs depending on the attitude. Some people will learn with a
warning and others won't."

Incidents of violence in relationships is an issue "extremely dear to
my heart," says Gelinas. "The detachment and the RCMP take these very
seriously because they can become very volatile."

Gelinas says the detachment monitors relationships where violence has
or could become an issue.

"If there is a criminal component we deal with that through the
courts," says Gelinas, but even when there aren't any charges, police
make regular visits to the home to confirm it is a safe place. "We
want to ensure there hasn't been anything in the past and won't be
anything in the future. We build up a rapport and I know it helps."

Where required, the detachment refers people to things like Victim
Services, says Gelinas.

Police are also making visits to those who have police or court
conditions imposed on them to make sure they are complying and
warrants are dealt with promptly, Gelinas adds.

Gelinas plans to share more of the results from the project with the
public at an Oct. 27 meeting, beginning at 7 p.m. at Black Bear Resort.

[Sidebar]

Sgt. Lyle Gelinas would like to see a Police Advisory Committee
formed in Port McNeill to address community issues.

"I formed two Police Advisory Committees while I was in the Gulf
Islands that were very successful," says Gelinas. "In my experience
it has been more successful than a community consultive group." A
community consultive group has been held in Port McNeill in the past.

Gelinas says the committee would meet four times a year to discuss
issues in the community and find ways to resolve them.

"It's not a tattle-tale group," assures Gelinas. "It's a committee
that has the community's best interests in mind. We (RCMP) are part
of this community. We're partners in this community."