POLICE CHIEFS WANT POSSESSION OF ALL NARCOTICS DECRIMINALIZED

Fight Court Backlog

OTTAWA - Canada's police chiefs are recommending that the federal
government decriminalize possession of small quantities of all illegal
narcotics, including heroin, the National Post has learned.

If the federal government accepts the proposal, anyone convicted of
simple possession of narcotics would simply sign a guilty statement
and pay a fine, without having to go through the court system. They
would not have a criminal record.

The proposal is meant to clear the courts of a backlog of drug cases
and allow police to concentrate resources on more serious crimes.

It was approved by the board of directors of the Association of
Canadian Police Chiefs last week and will be submitted to the
membership for a vote later this year.

The association's drug abuse committee, led by Barry King, Chief of
the Brockville, Ont. police force, proposed decriminalization of
narcotics, but also called for new federal and provincial programs to
deal with substance abuse.

Senior federal officials were part of the "intense dialogue" in the
drafting of the proposal and one top Justice Department official said
it will be given serious consideration.

Mr. King would not offer details until the proposal is revealed at a
news conference next week, but Julian Fantino, chief of the York
Region police force and a member of the association's board of
directors, stressed they are not recommending legalization of
marijunana, cocaine, heroin, or other illegal drugs.

Mr. Fantino said Canada's police chiefs are responding to the reality
that police forces are wasting scarce resources going to court when
most judges throw out drug-possession cases.

"I mean we diligently put these cases forward but in places like
Vancouver, for example, it is a terrible problem just trying to get
any kind of conviction for these issues using the courts. . . It is
just draining our resources and, in the end, the outcome is nothing,"
he told the National Post yesterday.

Chief Fantino stressed, however, that the police chiefs also want
politicians to direct substantial funds to help deal with drug abuse,
as well as for education programs to dissuade young people from trying
narcotics.

He points to the United States, where efforts are underway to treat
drug abuse as a health issue and not as a crime.

"We rely heavily on the criminal justice system, the police to deal
with this issue. We need a strategic, sophisticated drug policy in
this country. There needs to be a great deal more effort with respect
to education, getting at young people and treating people who want to
be treated," he said.

However, Mr. Fantino said the police also need funds to go after
organized crime, which is the principal conduit of illegal drugs into
Canada. The problem is that governments are short-changing the police,
he said.

"We don't seem to realize how devastating it is to see the
deterioration of communities, the ruination of lives, but this is
directly linked to the activities of organized crime . . . but we have
to go begging for the resources to help us do anything of meaningful
work with respect to organized crime. Our priorities in this country
are all screwed up," he said.

A senior law enforcement official, however, who asked not to be
identified, said the government would be foolish to accept the
proposal by the police chiefs. It would particularly anger the
Americans, who are already upset about Canada's inability to stop
smuggling of drugs and immigrants into the U.S.

"I wonder how they will react to know that the federal government is
contemplating decriminalizing possession of narcotics. I suspect they
would be somewhat pissed," said the official, who noted it is a
subject of controversy among police forces.