THANK YOU, CRIMINALS

Proceeds Of Crime Purchase Enhanced Radar System For Area

Thanks to a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision affirming the
right of the police to seize and redistribute the proceeds of crime,
this area will soon be the proud owner of a brand-new enhanced radar
system.

The decision in hand, Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley has been
visiting police detachments across Ontario to announce equipment
purchases funded by some $11 million in assets seized by police and
held while provincial governments and police forces across Canada
awaited the Supreme Court decision.

In Ontario alone, Mr. Bentley told reporters, there is some $40
million in seized and frozen assets awaiting redistribution.

"$2.5 million worth of grants will be made this year," the Attorney
General told local and visiting OPP brass, area mayors and members of
the Kapuskasing Police Services Board during a press conference at the
Model Town OPP detachment, Tuesday. "This enhanced radar system will
enable officers to better safeguard your streets and towns."

The radar system is parked by the roadside. The LED sign indicates the
speed approaching motorists are travelling, flashes safety messages
and gathers traffic data, including time of day, and traffic speed. It
will be used at various locations between Cochrane and Hearst.

"Criminal economy poses a significant threat to our communities.and a
prime motivator for crime is profit," OPP Northeast Region
Superintendent Jeff Dupuis said. "Crime shouldn't pay."

The new machine is expected to arrive in the region next week. The
first location slated for the radar is outside the Kapuskasing OPP
detachment on Hwy 11.

The OPP acknowledged that the sign might pose a minor distraction for
drivers, but said the enforcement value of the radar outweighs any
potential distraction.

No statistics exist, as far as the OPP knows, about how effective the
radar is at slowing traffic down, but anecdotal evidence suggests it
will have a positive effect.

The OPP is often asked to monitor trouble spots on roadways and
highways, which can be costly in terms of manpower. Because the
enhanced radar system tracks time data as well as speed, it will allow
the force to better tailor its response to requests for traffic monitoring.

"It will help us be more effective.(because) rather than have an
officer at one location all day, we can be at an area at a specific
time," Sgt. Maria Baker, the officer who made the application for the
machine, said.

The Supreme Court challenge to legislation allowing the sale and
redistribution of crime was brought by Robin Chatterjee, a former
university student who, in March 2003, was stopped by police.

Although not charged with a crime, items commonly used in marijuana
grow operations, along with $29,000 in cash, were seized from his
vehicle. Ontario's Civil Remedies Act does not require a criminal
conviction. A judge can give permission based on a balance of
probabilities that the goods were proceeds of crime, a standard that
is not as high as the criminal test of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Supreme Court decision was unanimous.