DRUG DEALERS ON THE RUN

Nobody in Edmonton was looking forward to the end of summer more than
Det. Maurice Brodeur.

The veteran Edmonton cop, who cherishes Edmonton's too-few warm
evenings and the smell of meat on the grill as much as anyone, was
being driven crazy by what police officers across the city have
described as one of the most frustrating seasons they've ever
experienced.

Not because the city was in the grip of a massive crime wave, mind
you.

Rather, they were all being driven batty by the shortage of men and
women in uniform, thanks to as many as three retirements a week and
everyone else trying to squeeze in a couple of weeks vacation.

On top of that, this summer saw a new method for patrolling the
streets and a new shift-scheduling system, both designed to put more
boots on the ground.

All of this resulted in cops being pulled off special assignments and
either put back on regular patrol or loaned to other squads to fill
staffing holes, at least until people started getting back from vacation.

In the midst of this bedlam, Brodeur was taking his staggeringly
effective methods for turning the tables on small-time drug dealers
and launching a city-wide program to take back neighbourhoods for
hard-working, law-abiding citizens.

And the Report A Drug House program is groaning under the weight of
its own success.

Since it was launched at the end of June, citizens have reported more
than 550 suspected drug houses in all corners of the city.

They either called the special hotline (426-8299) or e-mailed in the
tips ( reportadrughouse@police.edmonton.ab.ca ).

Brodeur is pleading with the public for patience as they sift through
the avalanche of tips and get them to the cops on the street.

So far, they've started passing along 260 addresses, and they expect
to start picking up speed as they go through the remaining 300.

"We've been tweaking out the system over the summer," he told a crowd
at the Eastwood community hall on 118 Avenue last week. "So bear with
us. It's coming along now."

The program targets what Brodeur describes as "disorder houses that
support the drug lifestyle" - the party houses that rattle neighbours'
windows all night, the small-time dealers who have people coming and
going at all hours and lead to an escalation of thefts and break-ins
at neighbouring homes.

While a constable on the south side, Brodeur was able to make life
miserable for dealers who were destroying neighbourhoods with noise,
traffic and petty crime.

Working with neighbours, landlords, bylaw officers, health and fire
inspectors, even animal control officials, he would use whatever legal
means necessary to harass drug dealers until they gave up and moved
away.

He built such a pit bull reputation that in some cases all he had to
do was leave his business card in the door jamb of a dealer's house
and within days they'd be gone.

He now has a battery of volunteers answering the phones and entering
all data into a computer system and he's training cops across the city
in his techniques.

Edmonton, he said, is "awash in drugs," to the point where dealers and
users are brazenly conducting business in broad daylight.

Brodeur isn't concerned with arrest statistics, or mounting costly and
time-consuming investigations that will result in small-time dealers
getting a slap on the wrist and then carrying on as if nothing happened.

If charges are laid, great. But his goal, he told the crowd, is to
claim back the streets for regular people.

"I'm not looking to solve the drug problem. I just want it to crawl
back under a rock," he said.