News Views

GANG VIOLENCE

B.C. Solicitor-General Rich Coleman has promised a new special
investigation unit to combat organized crime.

This has been a theme for Coleman for some time, and not just because it's
popular politically. Organized crime-related shootings and other violence
are becoming more frequent in many B.C. communities, as gangs jockey for
turf in the drug and prostitution trades.

Police have developed a cryptic code to communicate this growing
phenomenon. A man found shot in the head on a local street in late December
was said to have had "misfortunes in the past," and the public was assured
that his latest misfortune was "not a random act". In other words, he was
targeted, likely because he failed to hold up his end of a drug deal. This
incident might not have been gang related, but don't bet on that.

Similarly, when six homes were raided over two days last May, and a total
of 4,000 marijuana plants were seized, the RCMP investigator termed it a
"coincidence" that all seven adults arrested were Vietnamese, but added
that "it is reflective of who's getting involved in this type of stuff."
Indeed. The aggressive expansion of Vietnamese organized crime into the
lucrative grow-op business likely has even the Hells Angels worried.

Political correctness is giving away to honesty in what is generally
referred to as "Indo-Canadian" violence. No one wants to stereotype
immigrant groups by associating them all with crime, but it is now
impossible to ignore the proliferation of ethnic gangs, as their conflicts
increasingly spill out into the streets of our communities.

Coleman urges police to keep on busting marijuana grow ops, despite the
revolving door of the courts and the federal government's political
posturing about decriminalizing marijuana possession. That half measure by
the Ottawa Liberals isn't likely to close any gang grow-ops.