RCMP GEAR UP TO CRACK DOWN ON DRUG TRAFFICKING

Displacement of hardcore drug addicts from downtown Kelowna to
Westside is very much a possibility, according to RCMP commander Duncan Dixon.

And Dixon said he doesn't discount residents who claim more users are
appearing in their neighbourhood, in area between Highway 97 and East
Boundary Road, and Daimler Driver and Bartley Road.

"The criminal element is fluid," Dixon said in his quarterly report
to Westside council. "There is no line, there is no bridge."

Plus, Kelowna's downtown enforcement unit is aggressive and drug
users are likely being forced out of the area because of the
officers' efforts, said the Westside commander.

"They will respond to pressure, they will be displaced and that is
the whole idea behind the downtown enforcement unit in Kelowna."

However, Dixon also hoped there would be more resources to deal with
crack addicts and crack shacks in Westside. He stated that the force
continues to recruit people skilled in enforcement.

So, council will hopefully see some higher drug bust numbers in his
next quarterly report, he added.

Westbank First Nation members are also being asked to heavily focus
on drug enforcement because the WFN band council has asked the RCMP
to help deal with the same issues on reserve lands, said Dixon.

Meanwhile, the commander noted that Westside and rural RCMP forces
are almost at full strength at 38. There is currently one vacancy.

However, as officers are transferred out, vacancies will become
harder to fill, Dixon noted.

"We're being impacted by the problem of buying houses and selling
houses right now."

And the total RCMP force in Westside will drop to 35 at the end of
this month, when three rural officers are transferred to Rutland so
they can more quickly respond to complaints in Joe Rich, Ellison and Big White.

On a final note, Dixon said officers on the west side are young. He
called his detachment "extremely junior."