SUPERINTENDENT'S WORDS CLARIFIED THERE IS NO LINK BETWEEN GROW-OPS
AND AUTO THEFT

Whenever The Times publishes anything related to drugs, the e-mails
begin to flow from all parts on North America.

The flow begins immediately aE" often even before Langley residents
receive their copy of The Times. A network of people is plugged into
drug-related stories via the Internet, and do not hesitate to share
their thoughts with us and (they hope) readers.

We publish many of their letters, because they offer a legitimate
perspective on an issue of public policy. While most of them advocate
legalization or decriminalization of some drugs such as marijuana,
others take a different perspective. I've always found it curious
that anything positive about drug use (such as support for medicinal
use of marijuana, which is legal in Canada) rarely prompts any response.

On May 7, The Times published a story about a community impact
statement on auto theft that the two Langley mayors and Supt. Janice
Armstrong, officer in charge of Langley RCMP detachment, had agreed
on.

The signing of the statement took place as part of a press
conference, and there was discussion about how auto theft spills over
into other crimes.

The Times reported that Armstrong had said auto theft is linked to
marijuana grow-ops. Armstrong and other police officers do not
remember such a statement, although she says Langley City Mayor Peter
Fassbender did mention grow-ops and she may have made a comment as a
result of him doing so.

Our story prompted a letter from Randall St. Jacques of the Marijuana
Party's Windsor West constituency association in Ontario. He
criticized the link between the two, and Armstrong agrees with him
that there is no such link.

Her words are as follows:

"The author of the the letter to editor is quite right in his
assertion that there is no direct link to grow-ops and auto theft."

She is not critical of the reporting, saying that "we appreciate the
coverage." However, she does want her position on the link between
grow-ops and auto theft to be clear and unequivocal. That is
important, because she heads the local RCMP detachment and speaks and
acts on behalf of all those who "serve and protect" us in Langley.

Armstrong wants to emphasize that auto thefts are linked to many
crimes. That indeed is the whole purpose of the community impact
statement. Auto theft is a significant problem and it hurts many
people in the community.

"I did say that auto thefts were linked to many property crimes,
including break and enters, thefts and even robberies. I further
commented that suspects driving stolen autos often engage police in
high speed pursuits, endangering the lives of our citizens."

And in fact, many of those who are driving stolen autos are high on
drugs of some sort, as was eerily illustrated by the meth addict
driving a bait car and waving a gun while weaving his way down Fraser
Highway. That video was played on television and was not a pretty
sight.

We all need to do our part to keep auto theft down, by using theft
protection devices and making them unattractive to thieves.

From the Editor