POLICE ID 135 CRACK HOUSES IN METRO

Halifax Regional Police drug-squad investigators have identified about
135 metro crack houses, making the war on drugs a top priority.

And statistics released Monday for the first half of this year
indicate the resources invested to tackle the problem are being well-spent.

From January to June, police laid 37 per cent more drug-related
charges than the same period last year.

The number of charges laid increased to 251 from 183.

"We have recognized the need to control that particular area of crime
and that focus is reflected in the statistics," said Halifax Regional
Police spokesman Const. Frank Bowes.

Curbing the illegal drug trade has become a top concern for
police.

"Drug control is the No. 1 priority of Halifax Regional Police,
because the majority of crimes in the region are committed to support
a drug habit, or are somehow drug related," police Chief David
McKinnon said in a factsheet released to the Board of Police
Commissioners on Monday.

University of Toronto criminologist Scot Wortley cautioned that an
increase in charges doesn't necessarily indicate more drug dealers are
working the streets.

"When police forces decide to wage a war on drugs you see a lot more
people arrested ... It doesn't mean there are more drug dealers, it
just means it's harder to engage in that trade this year," Wortley
said.

The crime statistics also revealed metro's vicesquad had an increase
in arrests in the first half of this year.

Police laid 109 prostitution charges in the first six months, compared
with 89 over the same period last year.

"That's why those stats have increased. We've really focused heavily
on those areas," Bowes said of the drug and prostitution trades.

Overall, the number of criminal-code charges laid in the first half of
this year dropped 10 per cent over the same period last year.

A comparison of fraud charges could not be made from the recent data,
as the policy on fraud investigations has changed.

Last year, fraud investigations were launched if the case involved
$500 or more. Now that minimum figure is $1,000.

The change doesn't surprise Wortley, who said police agencies
generally don't commit a great deal of funds to white-collar crime.