FEARS OF CRIME WAVE GROW

Tanking Ontario Economy Could See Bad Guys Flocking To Alberta For
Richer Pickings

Cops And Criminologists Are Warning That A Serious Downturn Of
Ontario's Economy Could Mean More Organized Crime For Alberta.

"People Go Where There's Money. If There's Money Here And It's
Disposable, Someone's Going To Be Looking For A Piece Of It," Sgt.
Peter Ratcliff Of The Edmonton Police Association Said Yesterday.
"What That Might Look Like, I Don't Really Know."

Criminologist Bill Pitt, However, Has An Idea Of What That Future May
Look Like.

And It's Not Pretty.

"You're Going To See More Narcotics On The Street, Pushed At Lower
Prices. You're Going To See More Prostitution On The Street, Pushed
At Lower Prices," He Said, Adding That The Fallout From An Increased
Number Of Gangs Competing For One Of The Last Pieces Of Prime
Canadian Turf Might Reach Rarely Seen Proportions.

"I Think There's Going To Be Issues Between And Among Organized Crime
Groups That Are Going To Be Fought Out In The Street, As They Were In
The Recession In The '30s In Chicago ... Fighting For Dominance," He
Said, Adding That All-Out Gang Warfare - Such As The One Seen A
Decade Ago In Quebec Between Two Competing Biker Gangs - Is Not Out
Of The Question.

Part Of The Problem, He Continued, Is That Police Forces In Alberta
Have Been Facing West, Working Hard To Keep Out Bad Influences From
Vancouver, But Have Largely Ignored Threats From The East.

"It's Our Back Door And It's Wide Open ... I Think We're Going To See
More Movement From The East, We're Going To See More Intrusion From
Major Organized Crime," He Said. "We're Playing Catch-Up To Them, And
They're On The Way."

A Turndown In This Province's Economy Is More Likely To Hit Close To
Home, Pitt Said.

"I Think What We're Going To See Is More Domestic Violence ... In
Some Areas Money Is Going To Become An Issue, Or Debt Is Going To
Become An Issue, And Violence Is Going To Become A Problem In The
Home," He Said, Anticipating Annual Homicides Will Be Pushed To
Record Heights, Fuelled By Domestic Violence.

Property Crimes, In Part Aided By Many People's Increasing Mistrust
Of Banks And Moves To Take Money Out Of Large Financial Institutions
- - As Illustrated By Soaring Personal Safe Sales - Will Also Be On The
Rise, Pitt Said.

"Unless It's Buried Into The Ground And Weighs 14 Tonnes, People Can
Still Run Away With It," He Said. "I Think You're Going To See More
Property Crimes, More Break-And-Enters."

He Added That, With Only About 10% Of Edmonton Break-And-Enters
Getting Solved On Average, The City Is "Fertile Ground," For Those
Wanting To Commit Such Crimes.

Finally, He Said, The Streets Of Alberta May Become A Deadlier Place.

"Watch Impaired Driving Stats Go Right Through The Roof. During These
Periods, People Turn To Drugs And Alcohol With Great Frequency And
The Social Constraints Come Off Of Them," Pitt Explained.

"Often The Thinking Is 'It Can't Get Any Worse, I Don't Care If The
Cops Catch Me, I'm Going To Drink And Drive Anyway'.' "