PUBLIC CAN HELP FOIL DRUG PUSHERS, RCMP MAINTAIN

Sgt. Guy Rook has answered some tough questions about the RCMP's
efforts to control drugs and violence in downtown Whitehorse.

"It's very important to us that people feel safe," he said in an
interview today when told many Whitehorse residents are afraid of drug
dealers and the organized crime groups behind them.

When it was suggested many drug dealers operate fairly openly and with
little concern about police, Rook responded by saying, "Tell us about
them.

"The activity that surrounds drugs that's visible is something that we
are glad the public comes to us and tells us about," he said.

The police rely heavily on information from the public to begin and
move investigations forward, said Rook.

"We use information and from that we obtain evidence."

However, the burden of proof demands police have relative certainty
they will find drugs or drug activity before they can obtain search
warrants, said Rook, adding public tips can help that process
tremendously.

"We work with the law, we enforce the law and we have to respect the
law.

"We have to prove to a judge that drugs exist, that there are
drugs we have to prove probable grounds that drugs will be found."
Public tips are more than just a help, they are critical, said Rook.

Most investigations that result in convictions start with citizens, he
said.

There are many avenues for citizens to help police, including Crime
Stoppers, Citizens on Patrol and just coming down to the detachment to
offer information, he added.

"Are we one of the primary ways (to keep our communities safe)?
Certainly we are." The police and the public must work together, he
said. "We're as good as you help us become."

But, he added, "We also have to recognize that more attention has to
be paid to the importation of drugs into the territories."

It's a balance of going after the trafficker, going after the dealers
and prevention, he said.

"Obviously, we can't do it by ourselves. We're never gonna come out
and say, 'We know all the drug dealers.' We need public input."

Rook said many of the drugs coming into the Yukon are a product of
organized crime controlled from southern jurisdictions. He would not
name specific organizations.

"We are providing service in all kinds of ways 24 hours a day, and
part of that service is that if you see (drug activity) happening,
we'll look into that."

Rook scoffed at the suggestion police are intimidated by the violent
criminals involved in Whitehorse's drug scene.

"Absolutely not; I'm a police officer that's got 16 years service.
I've worked in Montreal, I've worked in Ottawa and I've worked in
small towns. I had to make arrests of people far more involved in
organized crime than these guys."

If anything, he added, the perception that police are afraid of
criminals pushes the RCMP to work harder to go right to the top in
capturing those responsible for drug trafficking in the Yukon.

"That's the important thing to realize. We attack (drug traffickers)
internationally. We attack them nationally. We attack them on
different fronts in different ways."

But in the end, much of the responsibility does come down to citizens
taking responsibility for their communities, said Rook.

Citizens need to say to themselves, "Part of making my community safe
is bearing witness to these things," he said.

Concerned citizens can call Crime Stoppers with any information that
might help police. All calls are confidential.