RAVE KIDS AREN'T CRIMINALS

To the editor:

How naive does the Halifax Regional Police Department believe the
public to be? On Feb. 9, Const. Frank Bowes said, "We don't feel that
we have to defend ourselves for officers doing their work, and doing
it properly." Well, that would be a noble and just stance if you were
chasing down a bank robber, or grilling a man suspected of murder, but
the police victimized children who they knew did not have drugs. The
police know who the dealers are.

The police simply can't admit it when they have done wrong. I think I
will call in a drug tip when there is another police get-together and
we'll see how quickly the cops are made to remove their drawers. They
raided that party with the intention of harming the rave scene. They
want to show parents who are upset that they are tough on drugs. They
should have chosen a known crack house or two in the city if they
wanted to impress anybody.

These kids had some pot. And no charges have been laid. If they meant
what they said about doing their duty, they would lay charges.
Otherwise, they are strip-searching babies for nothing. Kids have been
smoking pot for longer than the rave scene has existed, and hurting
that scene won't keep kids from smoking it.

Pat Duncan, a lawyer specializing in police matters, compared the
search to an armed suspect being searched in a crack house: "Are
police just supposed to wait for his lawyer to show up, with him still
having a gun in his pants?" Again, very true, if that were the case.
But nobody at the rave had a gun. Nobody there had crack. I don't
believe any of those violated 14-year-old girls will ever own either.
They are kids.

You rarely see people fight at a rave, so comparing it to crack and
guns is unfair. Kids dance. Some get high. Parents, policing your kids
is your responsibility. Raise your kids better, so the police don't
feel obligated to strip them of their dignity. The police did not need
to see any young girls naked to know who had drugs. Kids are still
going to party, raves will go on, and the kids who get high and get
caught with the proverbial "gun in their pants" will only find better
ways to hide their pot.

And for those of you who don't know, most raves are set up by young
people who are learning a whole lot about business. Halifax is No. 3
in Canada on the rave scene, and we should be proud that these
"misguided" kids are learning how to be responsible. They have to hire
staff, DJs, find venues and print and sell tickets. Don't bother
defending your position, coppers.

There is no defence.

Brent Jewers,
Dartmouth