RAVE SEARCHES POINTLESS: CHIEF

Put Onus On Organizers, Fantino And Inquest Agree

Police Chief Julian Fantino says trying to search people attending raves
for drugs is pointless.

"It's pretty difficult to find minute particles of drugs on people and
we're not into strip-searching," Fantino told The Toronto Sun yesterday,
adding that he supports most of the other key recommendations of the
coroner's jury investigating the Ecstasy-related death of university
student Allen Ho.

"The issue is drugs, of course, but we also have to look at raves as a
whole and make organizers accountable for their role in these problems."

ADVERTISING BAN

Besides suggesting police search party-goers for drugs such as Ecstasy, the
jury also called for a ban on any suggestion of drug use in advertising and
to require permits for the properties that host the raves.

"I agree with a balanced approach," Fantino said. "The commission put the
onus on the operators --where it should have been all along. They can't
just take the money and run."

Fantino disagreed, though, with the committee's stance on "harm reduction,"
a strategy to provide safety education to those who insist on using drugs.

"Treatment and education are important," he said, but he stressed that
anyone caught by police with illegal drugs will be prosecuted.

LAW IS THE LAW

"The law is the law -- we're not a social-service agency," he said.

Fantino added police have never set out to ban raves but just want to
ensure they have safeguards.

Police Services Board Chairman Norm Gardner had similar concerns over the
jury recommendations.

"It's really not up to the police or the city to guarantee the safety of
people at these raves as far as drugs are concerned," he said.

Gardner said searching is a possibility but, under current laws, is illegal.

"It's naive to think this can be accomplished just by an inquest -- there
are a lot of other factors," he said.