DRUG CRIME INCREASE A SIGN OF SUCCESS, POLICE SAY

Investment Has Paid Off With More Narcotics Arrests

Waterloo Region

Crime is down, but drug offences are up, according to the latest crime
statistics released yesterday by Waterloo Regional Police.

Overall, reported crime in Waterloo Region dropped 5.7 per cent in
2007 from the year before. The figures come from the service's annual
report to the police services board.

The numbers follow a trend revealed in a recent review of Statistics
Canada crime data for the region. It found drug crimes rose 81 per
cent from 2000 to 2007, while the crime rate overall dropped. The
annual report by Waterloo Regional Police examines reported crime from
one year to the next.

Only two areas saw a significant increases in 2007 -- drugs and
traffic violations.

Drug crime -- a category that includes possession, trafficking and
production of illegal substances -- was up 31 per cent over 2006.

Police Chief Matt Torigian said it's a sign that resources invested in
the drug branch are paying off.

"Drugs are very often the root cause of some of the criminal activity
we are responding to," he said. "We'll continue to see increased
emphasis on (drug investigations) because our community is saying, 'Do
something about the drug activity.' "

Since the service's new staffing plan came into effect in 2004, six
officers have been added to the drug unit. One sergeant and eight
constables were added to the intelligence unit and the provincially
funded, four-member Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy team was launched.

Those units communicate regularly with provincial partners and the
RCMP to share and gather intelligence.

Torigian pointed to the recent provincewide drug and weapons bust,
dubbed Project Blackhawk, as one example of how the Waterloo Region is
working with other services to combat a drug trade that moves fluidly
between jurisdictions.

Blackhawk, which netted dozens of illegal guns and millions in
cocaine, heroin, marijuana, cash and counterfeit Viagra pills, also
highlighted just how intertwined drugs can be with other illegal
activity, he said.

Overall, Waterloo Regional Police investigated 1,442 drug offences
last year.

Cannabis possession showed the largest increase -- rising from 678 in
2006 to 855 last year.

In 2006, violent crime showed the largest increase of any category of
offences-- a 31 per cent spike which police largely attributed to the
launch of a dedicated domestic violence unit.

In 2007, violent crime dipped nearly 14 per cent. It's a levelling off
police predicted, said Insp. Bryan Larkin.

"That said, we haven't come down to where we were before," he
added.

Traffic violations represented another predicted increase, police
said. They were up 12.5 per cent in 2007. As part of the same staffing
plan, traffic officers are now on duty 24 hours a day on five platoons.

Larkin said those numbers will likely continue to go up with increased
enforcement efforts like impaired driving checks.

Other highlights from the report include:

Calls for service went down 1.3 per cent to 166,138

Property crime dropped 4.7 per cent

Weapons-related calls increased slightly from 535 to
544.

Prostitution offences nearly doubled from 51 in 2006 to 101 in 2007