COPS ASSURE GANG ISSUE ON SMALLER SCALE THAN CALGARY

Drive-by shootings and innocent bystanders shot dead.

It's the heady stuff that can make you want to stay home with your front
door locked.

It wasn't the review of a gangster movie either, it was an almost daily
news bulletin coming from Calgary causing some Hatters to wonder if it
could get that bad in Medicine Hat.

"There's gang activity and drugs in Medicine Hat but no indication of the
Calgary type of situation coming here," said Andy McGrogan, Chief of
Police for Medicine Hat Police Service.

What happens here is on a much smaller scale and the type of gang activity
that we see in Calgary depends on a larger population to support that drug
market too. But where there is illegal drug activity there is organized
crime, said McGrogan.

Citizens can play a part in keeping their community safe. The police
recognize they cannot fight the drug war alone.

"The ideal would be if all those taking or dealing in illegal drugs just
stopped which would in turn dry up organized crime," said McGrogan.

For those who are law abiding citizens they can help by reporting
suspicious activity to the police.

There is detailed information about drugs on their website:
www.medicinehatpolice.com/organizedcrime

Medicine Hat's Integrated Intelligence Unit collects information about
organized crime and are members of the Criminal Intelligence Service
Alberta (CISA). They regularly exchange information including tactics and
strategies.