'EPIDEMIC' PLAGUING COMMUNITY

After the recent tragic deaths of four RCMP officers in Alberta linked to a
grow operation, I hope the proposed federal legislation dealing with
marijuana cultivation will finally come forward so that we can deal with
the violence associated with the organized crime involved in this activity.

Locally, I hope mayors and councils will start taking policing ratios a lot
more seriously. We have had one of the lowest numbers of police officers to
population in past years, in B.C. and in Canada, and this is not helping
enforcement in our region.

The past week showed 28 grow operations in an 82-unit townhouse complex in
Coquitlam. This indicates that the mayor and council should allocate more
resources to the marijuana enforcement team so they can better handle the
epidemic that is plaguing our entire community.

Harry Warren

Coquitlam