SO WHY NO BIG BUSTS?

Surinder Tsangaris isn't a fan of catch-and-release, but she's not
talking about fishing.

She's referring to the legal system which sees the police catch the
repeat offenders - usually for drug- and property-related offences -
only to see them back on the street within weeks or a few months, and
going back to their old tricks.

"It's so disappointing when the judge lets them out with a slap on the
wrist," says the owner of the White Tower Restaurant in
Campbellton.

Tsangaris and her husband Bill are particularly perturbed by a
well-known drug house on 19th Avenue where repeated busts have been
made over the years, yet it continues to operate.

The police continue to target the well-known crackhouses where
prolific offenders linger, but many people have asked the question:
Why is there never a major drug bust in Campbell River?

Well, it's not that easy, says RCMP Cpl. Brian Brown. Co-ordinating a
major drug bust requires a lot of time and police resources.

More to the point, it requires bringing in a team of undercover
officers from the Lower Mainland to conduct 24/7 surveillance.

The local detachment can make that request, he says, but that requires
pulling the team from other operations involving gangs and high-level
drug traffickers. And they're not coming to bust someone for a couple
ounces of cocaine or heroin.

"They (surveillance team) want a big-time result and the question is,
are they going to get it?" says Cpl. Brown.

"It's not as easy as it seems...you likely have to prove it to them
before they come over (here)."

With limited resources, the local Mounties use their Street Crew
officers to bust the small-time operators, who usually run dial-a-dope
operations.

As well, they conduct their own smaller-scale undercover operations to
bust the dealers who supply the street-runners.

Many of these suppliers are also addicted to drugs as well as the
prostitutes.

According to RCMP Insp. Lyle Gelinas, it takes a multi-agency approach
- - police, the courts and the health care system - to deal with these
issues and this is something he has been working on.