CRIMINOLOGIST TAKES JUSTICE SYSTEM TO TASK

At the beginning of his address to Langley's Rotary Club, criminology
professor and justice analyst Dr. Darryl Plecas said it was only a
year ago he spoke to them, 'whining and sniveling' about the 'idiotic
court system' and here he is again doing the same thing.

"The judicial system is entrenched in stupidity," he said last
Thursday at the Rotary's dinner meeting at Cascades Convention Centre.
"Public satisfaction is in the toilet. Garbage comes out of the
courts, day after day. The Charter is a wonderful thing until it gets
in the hands of the judges."

He is pushing for an overhaul of the judicial system.

Plecas, never one to hold back, gave an example of what judges require
of police for evidence in a grow operation. If there are several
plants in several stages of growth that are seized, a sample from each
plant has to be sent to the lab. If only one sample is processed, that
is all the accused can be charged with, he claims.

"That's the kind of stupidity that dominates the system," he
said.

Langley Rotary Club asked Plecas to speak on the gang war that has
taken over Metro Vancouver streets.

Plecas believes that it was only three years ago that there were less
than 10 gangs, mainly the Hells Angels, Russians, Triads and South
Asian gangs.

Now he believes there are more than 50 organized crime
groups.

"How you ask? We let our drug problem get out of hand," he said. It
all started with the proliferation of marijuana grow operations and
how easy it is to have one locally.

"People all of a sudden were getting rich. Pot for coke and guns is
big money. Cocaine deportation is the mother load. No more were the
huge shipments going out once in a while, now it's many little
shipments," he said.

With that kind of cash flowing and that much organization to get
everything out there, new gangs started forming, with mid-level drug
dealers popping up to organize the stuff.

"That's why we are seeing gang violence, because more gang people are
now fighting over the same size pie."

But Plecas predicts gang violence will be a thing of the past within a
year because of what he calls the amazing police work going on. He
also believes now is the time when gangsters are willing to 'turn in
their own grandmothers' when faced with life in prison.

"You never hear about the hits police stop. They've built up so much
intelligence," he said.

Plecas also predicted that in three years grow ops won't
exist.

He believes new technology and good police work will stop grow ops.
Between B.C. Hydro tip-offs, firefighters able to investigate and shut
electricity off to grow ops, and new science being able to not just
detect if there is a grow but how many plants - will reduce the
proliferation.

Langley RCMP's green team doesn't see it quite the same
way.

"Grow ops continue to be a pressing concern which we take seriously,"
said spokesperson Cpl. Holly Marks. "We are executing warrants on a
small percentage of the grow ops. Relative to his projections, we are
not sure what he's basing that on."

Langley is still waiting for the Public Safety Inspection Team to get
up and running again.

It managed to shut off electricity to more than 200 grows in six
months before it was shut down for a criminal investigation against
one of the team's firefighters, and pending a lawsuit against the team.