DENT IN DRUG TRADE MADE BY POLICE WELL WORTH THE EFFORT

While police admit that it may have only made a small dent in drug
activity in Niagara Falls, a six-month crackdown on drug pushers made
significant inroads on a number of fronts.

More than $800,000 in drugs was taken off city streets, resulting in
close to 200 arrests and a large amount of drugs and drug related
paraphernalia were removed.

That averages out to more than $100,000 a month for the duration of
the crackdown and is a significant amount of illegal drugs off the streets.

Staff Sgt. Craig Coates, who spearheaded the offensive, discovered
that nearly 80 per cent of crimes - armed robberies at convenience
stores and gas stations in particular - were committed by people with
drug addictions.

"The addicts don't even think about what they are involved in, they
just need the money for the drugs," he said.

While the crackdown was in progress, there was a five per cent drop
in the number of robberies and break-ins in Niagara Falls. By
comparison, the number of robberies in St. Catharines - where no such
crackdown was taking place - were up by 50 per cent from January to June.

The action has been deemed so successful that police brass want
similar programs in other parts of Niagara.

Multiply the results seen in Niagara Falls across other centres in
Niagara and the so-called dent gets a little bigger.

There's something else that shouldn't be lost on the police service
in this crackdown, as well - the openness with which officers dealt
with the media.

It meant that all along the way the public was being informed about
what was going on. It's likely that also had a lot to do with the
success of the program.