RCMP PLANS TO CENTRALIZE THE ISLAND'S DRUG OFFICES IN NANAIMO

Drug dealers on Vancouver Island could be facing increased scrutiny
as the RCMP relocates its federal drug offices to Nanaimo.

Although the RCMP have not officially confirmed the decision, city
leaders say the RCMP is amalgamating its federal Island district drug
units to the Hub City. The move will centralize its police presence
here, said Andy Laidlaw, Nanaimo's manager of community services.
Federal drug enforcement offices in Victoria and Courtenay are
expected to close. The move has no connection to the municipal drug
section of the Nanaimo RCMP.

This amalgamation of federal policing services will help the RCMP
enforce federal statutes, share intelligence and expertise in order
to battle crime on the Island, the Gulf Islands and the north half of
the Sunshine Coast, said Laidlaw.

The initiative will centralize drug unit resources that can be
deployed to any area of the region and supports the RCMP's goal of
providing more efficient services to its clients.

The new 50-officer federal drug unit will operate out of a building
at 575 Fitzwilliam St. that currently houses Nanaimo Fire and
Rescue's administration and other city departments including the
department handling.

"It doesn't mean 50 new officers and their families because it is an
amalgamation . . . but it is significant," he said.

Nanaimo has the largest RCMP detachment on the Island and work has
been underway for a number of years to centralize police resources
here, said Mayor Gary Korpan.

"This is going to send a big message to the drug gangs in this area
and is great news for our downtown," said Korpan. "We have been
working with the RCMP for a number of years to make this happen."

Korpan singled out the "commitment" of both Coun. Merv Unger and
former city councillor Tom Krall as being instrumental to convincing
the RCMP to amalgamate the federal unit in Nanaimo. The city had to
convince the RCMP to come to Nanaimo and it had stiff competition
from both Victoria and Courtenay to amalgamate and centralize here
resources here, he said.

This city's central location was a key consideration for the RCMP.

"Certainly the location of the city and the fact that the city has
space allocated for the unit were considerations for us," said Const.
Darren Lagan, media spokesman for the RCMP's Island Division. "As the
largest police force in Canada, we are always in need of more space
and Nanaimo is the perfect location for us."

But Lagan refused to confirm it is the federal drug unit being
centralized in Nanaimo.

"All I can say at this time is that the drug unit is one of the units
that we are looking at but I cannot confirm that it will be the drug
unit," he said.

To accommodate the RCMP, Nanaimo Fire and Rescue's administrative
offices will be moved to the old Vancouver Island Regional Library,
kitty-corner to the city's RCMP detachment and Nanaimo's community
policing department will occupy some space in the newly renovated
federal RCMP building on Fitzwilliam, Laidlaw said.

"All city staff will be out of there by the end of the year," said Laidlaw.

The RCMP is paying for all the renovations necessary to move the
amalgamated drug unit into its new headquarters and will pay what he
calls "market value" for renting the building.

He said he expects the building to be "completely renovated and
occupied by September."

"It really turns out to be quite a good deal for the city."