DRUGS PROMOTE OTHER CRIMES

This letter is in response to Sue McFadden's Oct. 18 letter,
"Fighting abuse isn't exciting" regarding Brantford's street crime
unit. Sue is interested in determining "why so much money is spent on
undercover officers following people around 24-7, watching suspects
running errands on the off chance that they might sell crack
cocaine." Common sense and good judgment need to be applied to answer
this question.

Not only are drugs a major contributor (not a cause) of crime, but
they destroy the lives of the drug abuser and their associates.

The drugs that are being imported into Brantford have had a
detrimental effect on some of our citizens. According to this article
(and, I would argue, other scholarly sources from around the world),
the need for addicts to obtain money to feed their drug habit has
motivated them to commit property crimes - the ordinary crimes that
McFadden is upset the police are apparently not focusing on.

McFadden is right that there is a high percentage of domestic
assaults, overcrowded shelters and street kids living off petty
crime. But I would argue that one of the major contributors to these
problems is the drug trade, and that by targeting one of the root
causes, the police are, in fact, combating other crimes as well.

I think money should be poured into the street crimes unit so we do
not have a female drug addict so in need of a fix, that she has no
alternative except to demoralize and demean herself by offering sex
acts on the streets of Brantford for $2.50.

Briana Dobson

Brantford