PROVINCE TO TACKLE GANG VIOLENCE

Lethbridge streets will be a bit bluer next year, as the Lethbridge
Regional Police Service prepares to hire three new police officers.

The new officers were announced Tuesday as part of a province-wide
effort by the Alberta government to crack down on gang crime.

"It will provide us with an opportunity to enhance the level of
service that we are currently providing to the community. It provides
us with three more sets of boots that are on the street, to be able to
provide response to front-line issues," said Insp. Jeff Cove of the
Lethbridge regional police.

Cove added additional officers will not be assigned specifically to
gang-related crime, but to front-line police work.

"You can never say that it's a bad thing that we get these
individuals. Would we have liked to have been able to have a lot more?
Sure, but at the end of the day, the realities are the realities. For
our issues in Lethbridge, we'll certainly take these three
individuals, hire them, train them, get them on the street and provide
those services to our citizens."

The police service is recruiting for the three positions and Cove
expects the new officers will begin training in May 2009 and will hit
Lethbridge streets sometime next summer. The new hires will bring the
total number of officers to 148.

Lethbridge's three new officers will be among 183 hired across the
province, said Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, in response to increasing
levels of gang violence, particularly in Calgary and Edmonton.

"Innocent people are being shot," said the premier, who also announced
the formation of four new anti-gang teams.

"That's not the kind of Alberta we want."

The premier referred specifically to a student from Brazil who was
caught in gang crossfire last month while walking in downtown Calgary
with his girlfriend. He lost both eyes as a result of the wound.

"Honest, hard-working Albertans deserve to live in communities where
their children can go to a park without having to worry about drug
dealers," said Stelmach.

But NDP Leader Brian Mason accused Alberta's Conservative government
of foot-dragging on hiring more police. He said the crime problem in
Alberta has been escalating for years as the province's economy boomed.

"They've waited until the situation reached a crisis level and in the
meantime our streets have become less safe," said Mason. "Gangs are
taking root in our major cities and people have lost their lives
because of gang activity."

Stelmach says part of Alberta's new crime-fighting strategy will be to
target roughly 60 of the worst offenders in the province: people who
go back to criminal activity almost immediately after being released
from jail.

Police and probation officers will monitor these people closely,
allowing for quick arrests and prosecution, said the premier.

"We'll put the heat on them, watch their movements so they don't
re-offend," he said.

Solicitor General Fred Lindsay says Alberta's police chiefs are
demanding more front-line staff to disrupt, dismantle and shut down
illegal drug operations.

Last month, Lindsay blamed Alberta's growing drug trade on executives
in Calgary office towers buying illegal drugs such as cocaine as part
of their high-flying lifestyles.

"Every aspect of society is involved in the drug trade to some
degree," Lindsay said Tuesday in an interview.

"Whether they're a high-level professional or somebody working on
construction, they're all a part of it," he said. "They're fuelling
what's happening on our streets."

The province made a three-year commitment last spring to hire 300 new
police officers and Tuesday's announcement included 100 of those
officers who will be recruited in the second round of hiring.

The other 83 officers are being hired with $42 million in federal
money the province will receive over the next five years.