INCREASE IN 'OPEN-AIR VIOLENCE' POWERED BY PROVINCE'S DRUG TRADE

VANCOUVER -- The litany of gang-related gunplay on Vancouver's
streets - and the danger to innocent bystanders - is being fuelled by
the province's rich drug trade and the rise of new gangs looking to
cash in, police say.

And these groups are relying more on "open-air violence" to settle
disputes than in the past, Inspector Dean Robinson of the Vancouver
Police gang crime unit said.

"The disturbing element here is these people, with these weapons and
these issues between themselves, are just willing to use
indiscriminate violence at the drop of a hat, regardless of what the
consequence is to the general public," he said in a press conference yesterday.

While gangs are not new to B.C. - with the Hells Angels operating
since the early 1980s and the presence of Asian gangs for several
years - at least two more gangs have emerged within the last five
years, said Sergeant Steve Hyde of the gang crime unit.

He said the city is more of a "magnet" for criminal activity than its
urban counterparts, Montreal and Toronto.

"What we see in Vancouver is more affluence, and that has a lot to do
with it being a port city, and the strong drug trade here," Sgt. Hyde
said. "It's more competitive here; there's a lot of money to be made."

About 90 per cent of the shootings can be pinpointed on drug-related
crime, he said.

Although B.C.'s organized-crime scene is becoming increasingly
crowded, Sgt. Hyde did not think the city has a gang war on its hands.

"We're seeing gang members from one group working with others if the
profit's there and the connections are there," he said.

Rather, he said, the four shootings in the last month with suspected
ties to gang activity are internal disputes.

Robert Gordon, professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University,
said there are about 100 known organized gangs in the province, but
aren't being actively investigated because of a resource gap.

He said the provincial government has to allocate funding to the
appropriate agencies to curb the problem.

"The government has to decide whether to allow this to continue, or
it needs to move to curb the illegal drug industry by legalizing it,
or it needs to pour money and resources into a war on organized
crime," he said.

While people should be concerned, he said the frequency of public
violence isn't increasing. It comes in spikes that occur every few
months, a natural byproduct of B.C.'s drug trade, "These outbreaks
involving firearms occur from time to time. We're going through one
of those times now," he said. "It does have a normality about it, not
to say it should not be taken seriously."

On Tuesday morning in Langley, three men fired several rounds into a
grey Hummer, wounding Leonard Pelletier, who was taking his
14-year-old son to nearby D. W. Poppy Secondary School.

RCMP Inspector Gary Shinkaruk of the outlaw motorcycle gangs unit
confirmed Mr. Pelletier was injured in the shooting, and added he is
a relative and associate of Bob Green, a well-known full-patch member
of the Hells Angels.

Mr. Pelletier and other members of his family have been well-known to
police for some time, he said.

And last Saturday, two masked men stepped onto the patio of an
upscale Italian eatery and shot a man - who police say has been
linked to gangs - and a woman through the restaurant window.

Exactly a month earlier, two men were shot dead and six others
wounded at Fortune Happiness restaurant after two masked gunmen burst
in and opened fire.

That attack, too, is believed to be related to organized crime, police say.

The recent spike also stems from easy access in B.C. to a cache of
guns, said Insp. Robinson.

So far this year, Vancouver police have made 25 gun seizures, he
said, including a major bust in April.

"They range from firearms, revolvers and pistols up to, as we have
displayed before, some fairly exotic military assault rifles," he said.

The problem, Insp. Robinson said, has outpaced the Vancouver Police's
resources.

The gang crime unit is "stretched to the max," he said, and
investigators are doing everything they can to ensure public safety
with the resources they have.

He estimates two new squads of 10 officers are needed.