POLICE TEAM TARGETS CRACK HOUSES FOR SHUTDOWN

Police are putting together a large team of undercover officers to target
and shut down Hamilton's crack houses, The Spectator has learned.

A formal announcement of the project -- which brings together 10 vice and
drug squad officers and all 18 members of the High Action Enforcement Teams
in all three divisions -- may come today. But the team has already begun
its work.

"Effective immediately, we will target the closing of the city's 20 or so
crack houses,'' Inspector Dave Bowen, of the Hamilton-Wentworth police said
yesterday, confirming the new project.

'STREET CRIME'

"And we will continue until we see evidence that violent street crime is
reduced.''

A perceived rise in violent, crack-motivated crimes led to the project,
rather than any numerical analysis of crack seizures or assault arrests.

Crimes in recent weeks that appear to be linked to the use of crack cocaine
include street attacks by people armed with hammers and knives, such as the
knife-point muggings of an elderly woman and a pizza delivery man.

"We are concerned about the increasing violence in our community,'' Bowen
said. At the same time, he said, crack cocaine use and availability are up
substantially.

Local social workers embraced the new get-tough strategy, but fear it's not
enough to stop the cycle of crack use and the brutal violence that goes
hand in hand with addiction.

But the agencies agree that crack use, and the resulting problems, have
been increasing.

Lorraine Chapman, a social worker who manages Women's Detox, said about 35
per cent of her clients are crack addicts.

"It's definitely a problem,'' she said, noting crack use has increased
significantly in the past seven years.

But Chapman wonders if the new initiative is the answer.

"Whether reducing the supply resolves the problem, I'm not sure,'' she said.

And even if the new initiative sees police cracking down on the problem in
Hamilton, people still have access to other urban centres nearby, she said.

"Many of the reasons people use substances is to numb out bad things that
have happened in their life. People unfortunately will find other ways to
do that,'' she said.

Chapman said crack causes a lot of damage to people's lives. ``They spend a
lot of money and turn to crime to support their use,'' she said.

"We don't see the police as the enemy in this ... but if these people can
get help so that it doesn't happen again, then that would be a good
thing,'' she said.

Janet Marlin, executive director for Alternatives for Youth, agrees the
city needs to do more than simply arrest addicts because that ignores the
underlying problem.

Marlin said addicts need assistance to deal with the problems they are
trying to avoid in their lives."It's a combination of strategies that will
be the most effective,'' she said.

Instead of fighting crack, Marlin said she would prefer to see police focus
more on alcohol abuse because ``that's the one we see creating all the havoc.

"The general public has this impression that crack cocaine is what you
really need to worry about,'' she said.

"But if you look at the overall cost to society of alcohol compared to
crack cocaine, it's insignificant. Of all the drug-related deaths in
Ontario, about two-thirds are tobacco, one-third are alcohol and less than
one per cent are all the other illicit drugs put together.''