DRUG UNIT MAY GET LARGER

With the recent headlines involving marijuana grow operations being
discovered in the region, the Timmins police chief has numerous plans to
take advantage of increased funding for more officers.

The provincial government recently announced it will invest $37 million to
fund the hiring of 1,000 new police officers.

Sixty officers will be allocated to Northern Ontario and First Nations
communities, which will receive $70,000 for each officer. The rest of the
province can get $35,000 for each new officer.

On average, police officers in Ontario earn between $40,000 and $70,000.

Police chief Richard Laperriere said the funding will help address some of
the issues faced in this area.

"They've identified special needs for Northern Ontario, which are great,"
he said. "It would meet some of our needs and address some of the issues we
do have in the North."

The application for funding has already been completed and will be sent in
before the Sept. 30 deadline.

Laperriere said he is looking to hire nine new officers.

"I don't know what we will get," he said. "There's definitely a need for it
here, and we do in fact need some assistance."

If the application is approved, Laperriere said the areas he would like to
see enhanced include the drug section.

He would like to see two officers added to the unit to help in
investigations and in busting illegal grow operations.

"Here in Timmins, we are geographically located and sort of considered the
gateway of the North in respect to illegal drug trafficking," he said.
"It's been made very clear to me that we do have organized criminals here
in our area, and they do in fact have a base in our community."

"We do have a problem and this is a real serious concern. We would like to
spend more resources in that area."

Another area is youth crime, where two officers are currently assigned.

Laperriere said those officers are responsible for young offenders and
victims of sexual assault and child abuse. They also investigate missing
persons cases and runaways.

He wants to see one officer added to the youth bureau.

"I also want to forge partnerships with other youth-oriented agencies, like
the Children's Aid Society," he said.

A drastic rise in calls for service, up by 19.6 per cent as outlined in the
2004 annual report, also shows the need for more officers on patrol.

"That number tells us that our front-line personnel are being taxed with
more and more responsibilities," he said. "The time spent on interaction
with citizens is severely limited."

He would like to see one officer added to each of the four platoons. That
would allow officers to provide more community policing and be more
pro-active in crime-prevention initiatives.

The province wants 500 of the new police hires allocated to community
policing, such as patrolling neighbourhoods and visiting schools.

It wants the other 500 divided among six priority areas: guns and gangs,
youth crime, organized crime, child pornography and domestic violence.

Having a full-time domestic violence co-ordinator is high on the list for
the Timmins Police Service.

"We do have a co-ordinator in place, but basically, he has double duty,"
Laperriere said. "He's our court liaison officer and responsible for bail
hearings.

"It would be nice to have one officer devoted full-time to domestic
violence issues."

With the Ministry of the Attorney General establishing a domestic violence
court in the city, the co-ordinator's mandate will be to streamline the
bail court process, and he would be clearly identified for domestic
violence and court liaison responsibilities, Laperriere said.

But perhaps one of the most concerning areas in need of extra officers is
traffic enforcement.

"We really have to do a better job in regards to that," Laperriere said.
"I'm very concerned in reference to the number of accidents throughout the
city."

He said one extra officer could be assigned to enforcement initiatives and
could also provide expanded community services, such as presentations,
educational seminars and general interaction with members of the public.

"We have to do a better job in enforcement, and we have to send a message
out there," he said.

When, or if, Timmins gets the funding is still unclear.

The application has already been sent to the Timmins Police Services Board
and will then go to the chief administrative officer of the city for approval.

"I guess (the government) will wait and assess each application, and
hopefully they'll see merit in our application and meet our needs," he
said. "I would think in a couple of months, we should have a response to
the application, clearly identifying what they are prepared to give us."