DRUG-FREE ZONES HIT TABER

Children are the future, and several groups here in Taber are making
sure its youth are as protected as possible.

What has been four years in the making came to fruition on Tuesday as
35 signs were put up in town surrounding a two-block radius around
Immanuel Christian, Dr. Hamman, St. Patrick's, St. Mary's, Central
and W.R. Myers schools, and the Taber Skateboard Park, to deem them
Drug Free zones.

"It's really important that we get the right message out to the
community," said Sgt. Howard Kehler of the Taber Police Service.
"It's not OK to use or possess drugs anywhere, but if you traffic
drugs in our drug-free zones, we are simply going to seek a greater
punishment."

Under Section 10, subsection two of the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act, once a person is convicted of a drug-related offence,
during the sentencing courts shall consider certain aggravating
circumstances. One of those is if the individual trafficked an
illegal drug or substance in or near a school, on or near a school
grounds or on or near a public place frequented by people under the age of 18.

Partners in the Drug Free Zone program are Taber Community Against
Drugs, Taber Police Service, the Town of Taber, Horizon School
Division, Holy Spirit School Division and the Society for Christian
Education for Southern Alberta.

Hopes for the program are to diminish school-aged children's
susceptibility in becoming involved with drugs by providing a
supportive environment to help children resist social pressures and
pursue drug-free lives. It is also to provide students in the various
school divisions in town an opportunity to learn in a safe drug-free
environment by reducing substance abuse and associated problems,
along with giving law enforcement another tool in prosecuting
drug-related offences.

"We want to send a message to the community that we are doing as much
as we can to combat abuse, possession and trafficking of illegal
substances. This is one more tool that we can use," said Kehler. "The
law is already there, it's bringing it to the attention of the courts
that the offence was committed in a drug free zone that is important."

Taber Police Service lay the charge of the drug-related offence and a
community-impact statement is read by the crown prosecutor after
conviction. It will ensure that the impact illegal substances have on
the community is brought to the attention of the courts and hopefully
greater punishments will be handed out.

Kehler has been approached with the question of why not make all of
Taber a drug-free zone, in which it is a matter of the partner groups
of Drug Free zones using the law in its current form to the best of
its ability, with its focus on the gravity of affecting youth.

"We encourage people that if they want to make our community a safer
place to live to get involved, and that includes the reporting of
illicit drug use or trafficking, whether it's in a drug-free zone or
if it's out of a drug-free zone," said Kehler. "The emphasis is it's
wrong whether it's in or out of a drug-free zone, but this is one
more tool that shows the courts that the community is concerned about
the well-being of our children."

Measuring the success of the DFZ program will require schools to
monitor the number of drug-related suspensions levied to determine if
numbers decrease.

Taber Police Service will monitor the number of drug-related charges
made within the DFZ to determine if numbers decrease.

The Taber Police Service will also be monitoring the number of
prosecutions of offenders who committed drug-related crimes in a DFZ
and upon conviction, monitor if offenders received stronger
penalties/consequences than they would have prior to the
implementation of the DFZ.

The partner groups are also hoping for a higher report of violations
with the increased awareness the campaign brings, with signs having
the number for Crime Stoppers and the Taber Police Service on them.