TOP COP WAGES WAR ON CRACK

White Begins First Full Year As Chief

As an outsider hired to run the capital's municipal police force,
Chief Vernon White admits he was nervous about being the new top cop
on the block.

"I wasn't sure how accepted I would be as a new chief," White said
yesterday in an interview.

But now, "I couldn't feel more welcome."

White, who has quickly established himself as a straight shooter with
a big-picture vision for Ottawa, begins his first full year with
Ottawa police with the same plan of attack he developed in the second
half of 2007.

He intends to continue his war on crack cocaine, but he's worried the
drug scourge will move outside downtown as cops round up dealers in
the core.

The downtown street crime unit has so far surpassed White's
expectations.

He also said he's been surprised not only by the amount of crack
downtown but also the attitude of people about the problem.

"I'm shocked by the complacency of the public when it comes to it," he
said. "It's not a downtown issue. It's an Ottawa issue."

It's why White says he'll continue pressuring the provincial
government to help Ottawa build a youth drug treatment centre.

"The province needs to step up," he said.

White said that when the drug crackdown started, police did their best
to warn doctors about the possibility of more drug addicts looking for
prescriptions as dealers were arrested.

White said the street crime unit will stay active as long as there's a
need for the special officers.

The chief also has his sights set on other operational matters in
2008.

Last year ended with five unsolved homicides in Ottawa, including the
high-profile triple murder of a retired tax judge, his wife and their
friend, and White says detectives are being "very aggressive" in their
continuing investigations.

BETTER RESPONSE

When it comes to large-scale investigations, White hopes to train
"major incident response teams" to respond during the first 48 hours
of the probes.

He said the initiative would likely come out of the deployment review,
which is a major focus for the force in 2008.

It's too early to say if a recommendation from the review will involve
hiring more front line cops, White said.

At the same time, White wants to make sure the police force is on a
"stable financial footing" in 2008.

The chief says drunk driving is also a concern, and while he believes
OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino is "right on the money" with launching
daily RIDE programs outside the holiday season, Ottawa police don't
have the resources to make a similar commitment.