POLICE AFTER THOSE 'RIDIN' DIRTY'

Ridin' dirty is a dangerous business that's going to land a young
person in jail.

That's the message behind the latest in a series of anti-gang posters
being released by the Abbotsford Police.

The poster, which reads "We'll catch you ridin' dirty," is part of
Operation Tarnish, an APD crime and gang prevention campaign.

Ridin' dirty is a slang term which means someone is either driving a
stolen car or one which is carrying weapons, drugs, or stolen goods,
said Const. Ian MacDonald.

The phase is common among youth and referenced in hip hop
music.

"It's sort of presented as a badge of honour ... that there's a
coolness that comes along with the flaunting of authority," he said.

"But we want to dispel that myth. It's not cool, and really won't be
cool if you end up with handcuffs on."

In 2009, Abbotsford Police were involved in 493 incidents in which
people were riding dirty.

In almost half the cases, drugs were found in the vehicle, while 34
per cent involved stolen goods and 17 per cent involved weapons.

Police have seized everything from martial arts weapons to sawed-off
shotguns.

The vast majority of the people caught riding dirty were young people
- - often just out of high school.

"These are obviously people who made the wrong decision at the same
age as our target audience right now," MacDonald said.

"These were not people who were out joyriding, or good people that
just got caught up in something. People are in cars with [these
things] because they are involved in the gang or drug world."