OCPS HAPPY WITH CRACKDOWN

The Oxford Community Police Service's (OCPS) growing focus on the
city's drug problem resulted in a marked -- and welcome -- increase
in the number of possession and trafficking charges laid in 2008.

With both the OCPS's uniformed officers and its drug intelligence
unit redoubling their efforts to combat the Oxford region's drug
trade, deputy Chief Rod Freeman indicated the force's strategy was
now paying noticeable dividends. In 2008, the OCPS laid 191
drug-related charges, an increase of roughly 44 per cent from the 132
charges in 2007. To compare, the OCPS laid 113 charges in 2006.

"We've really torqued up our efforts, specifically around the drug
culture in town," Freeman said Wednesday. "We've kicked it into high gear."

Part of the motivation for the OCPS's increasing efforts was the
growing impact of the drug trade on other areas of crime, including
crimes of violence and property crimes. A number of recent robberies,
including incidents at Woodstock Subs and Mac's Milk, were related to
the region's drug trade.

"There's an overlap of the illegal drug trade in all these crimes,"
Freeman said. "Good citizens should not be put at risk by these kinds
of activities. "It's just not right, and it's something we're trying
to (stop). We're bound and determined ... to tackle (crime) at its
root source."

While Freeman acknowledged the OCPS could not eradicate the city's
drug problem, he hoped that officers could "drive it so far
underground" that offenders would have to "take the basement stairs."
This renewed focus, he said, could also act as a deterrent for some
who might be tempted by the lifestyle.

"I want to put out fair warning that this is a priority for our
community," the deputy chief said. "It's an ambitious task, but I
think our guys are up to the challenge."

Freeman promised this focus on the area's drug trade would continue
to be a "strong" priority for the OCPS "over the next period time."
With the continued prevalence of crack cocaine and OxyContin, a brand
of the opiate oxycodone, Freeman said the OCPS needed to remain
proactive in trying "to clear the drug problem."

"One of the first things I recognized (when I came to Woodstock) was
the significant drug problem in town ... and that spills over into
other areas," Freeman said. "There is a direct line between drugs and
crimes of violence.

We've seen home invasions, assaults and robberies that can be
directly attributed to the drug trade."

For the past few years, the OCPS has noted a gradual increase in
violent crimes in the region, including an eight per cent jump from
the 471 actual reported incidents in 2007 to the 508 in 2008.