ALLS QUIET IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Months of dogged determination on the part of residents and the RCMP
have silenced drug activity in a downtown neighbourhood.

"I wouldn't even say it's noticeable," St. Paul Street resident Kerri
Gold said Wednesday.

Gold and her neighbours spent months engaged in a war of wills with
drug dealers who moved onto the streets and into the alleyways earlier
this year.

At its peak, residents counted at least 100 people a day buying drugs
in the area. Gold got to know many of dealers and buyers by sight, she
said.

Neighbours decided to fight back. Signs claiming St. Paul and Battle
streets as Drug Free Zones were put on lampposts and residents figured
out the whistling code dealers used to arrange drug buys.

Residents would whistle to thwart the deals.

A month-long RCMP undercover operation focusing on street-level
dealers ended with four teens in custody. Police said some of the
dealers had been causing problems for residents in a downtown
neighbourhood.

At first, nothing changed. But Gold said all was quiet on her street
by the middle of September.

She still hears the occasional whistle and notices the odd dealer
downtown, but there is little activity in the immediate
neighbourhood.

"We don't go to sleep at night wondering if we will be woken up or
have people in our yard," she said.

RCMP has checked with residents to make sure the criminals haven't
returned. Gold said the police presence is welcome.

What remains to be seen is if the dealers return. Gold hopes the drug
trade doesn't return next summer.

RCMP Const. Cheryl Bush is glad residents and police worked together
to improve the situation. She said this sends a message to criminals
that crime will not be tolerated in any neighbourhood.

"Residents and police won't stand for it," she said.

Gold hopes the work done on St. Paul Street will inspire others to
fight back against criminals.

"These things don't just stop on their own. People have to band
together," she said.