RECESSION FUELS DRUG TURF WAR

More People Take To Dealing As Economy Worsens And City Police Say It Has
Set Off String Of Violence

It seems no industry, even among the illicit ones, has been able to
escape the global recession.

Toronto police officials say the economic downturn is one factor in a
violent turf war playing out in the city, as dealers flood the market
and buyers find themselves hard up for cash.

"The drug economy is changing. Because of the (global) economy, it
seems more people are dealing or are working in the drug trade now,"
said Deputy Chief Tony Warr.

At the same time, buyers have less money to spend.

It comes down to basic supply and demand, Warr said.

"There's more competition, but less money. And the disputes between
drug dealers are getting violent ... as they fight over turf."

It's a trend in cities across North America, said criminologist
Richard Rosenfeld, a professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

"Communities that are right on the economic margin suffer the most
during an economic downturn," he said. "Those persons who may already
be criminally active to some degree may expand their activity when
there's little to no legitimate economic activity available."

Drugs and violent crime go hand in hand, said Rosenfeld. And it's not
always about turf.

"When street-level drug dealing expands, we should expect to see an
increase in violence. Drug dealers are prime targets for street
robbers because they carry cash and drugs, or both, and they're
reluctant to call police if they're victimized," he said.

"As the streets heat up, even people who are not direct participants
in the drug market may try to arm themselves."

Fallout from the changing drug economy is being felt across the
country.

In 2007, Ottawa police noticed as many as 20 prominent gang members
had moved to Calgary. Cathy Prowse, a criminal anthropologist with the
University of Calgary, said the drug business is the same as any other
- - you go where the money is.

"The pie can only be cut so many ways," she said.

At the time, gangs found a lucrative drug market in the west. But as
the recession trickled into Alberta's economy and subsequently buyers'
pockets, the money dried up.

Earlier this year, many of those dealers had migrated back to Ottawa,
said Ottawa Staff Sgt. Chris Renwick.

In Toronto, intelligence reports have shown a spike in drug dealers
operating in the Keele-Eglinton and Jane-Finch neighbourhoods, said
Staff Insp. Mario Di Tommaso, unit commander of Toronto's drug squad.

Since January, more than a dozen homicides and at least 50 shootings
have taken place in those areas, including last month's near-fatal
attack on 5-year-old Taniyah Reynolds.

The kindergarten student was sitting outside at a family barbecue when
a masked gunman sprayed her front yard with bullets.

But it's not just gang members involved, Warr stressed. There has also
been a sharp increase in the number of low-level street dealers.

Last week, the drug squad raided more than 30 crack houses and
marijuana grow operations in those neighbourhoods. Police made 120
arrests, laid more than 400 drug-related charges and seized "hundreds
of thousands of dollars" of cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy.

On Monday, 75 officers from the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention
Strategy, or TAVIS, were deployed to the two neighbourhoods.

"The idea is they will fill any void left (after) the raid," Warr
said.

The raid will soon cause waves in the drug market.

"It usually takes about a week before we see it on the street level,
but after a big drug raid, because of supply and demand, we see the
price go up," said Det. Sgt. Howie Page. He said one significant
effect of the recession he has noticed is that users are buying very
small quantities.

"We're seeing people buying $3 to $5 worth of crack," he
said.

Crack cocaine is typically priced from $10 to $20.

"And the way they pay for it? Property crime," Page said. "That's why
we always have to stay on top of the drugs."