'TROUBLING CRIME TRENDS' DOG TORONTO: FANTINO

Distribution of child pornography and other Internet crimes, an
'epidemic' of marijuana grow houses as well as the proliferation of
identify theft continue to dog Toronto as 'troubling crime trends',
says Toronto's police chief.

"Criminals are using computers as tools for theft, extortion,
fraudulent transactions, laundering proceeds of crime, hiding
incriminating evidence and the distribution of child pornography
worldwide," Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino said Wednesday during
his 30-minute address to the Tri-Chamber Alliance luncheon.

Approximately 130 business people -- members of the Etobicoke-, North
York- and Scarborough chambers of commerce -- attended the autumn
luncheon at a north Etobicoke banquet and convention hall.

"Chamber members want their local identities, but these events add
value to relationships, allowing people to spread influence and meet
people across the city," explained Peter Sirois, president and CEO of
the Etobicoke Chamber of Commerce.

"The luncheon series also offers us critical mass to attract the likes
of the chief, the premier (Dalton McGuinty) and the mayor (David
Miller)," all of whom spoke at tri-chamber luncheons this year.

Toronto police's 23 Division, the policing district where the lunch
was held, has seen a 29 per cent reduction in crime in recent months,
Fantino noted.

The chief, who leaves his post as Toronto's top cop next year,
expressed disappointment with what he called "very weak sentences" in
cases of child pornography convictions.

"Every one of those (pornographic) images is the irrefutable evidence
of a crime being committed," he said, noting some children are merely
months old. "...We as a collective society have an obligation to
protect them."

Organized crime groups' forging of mergers internationally to conduct
illegitimate business he called a "growing threat to our global economy.'

Money laundering also tops the list of crimes carried out over the
Internet, he added.

"What's even more disturbing is the belief that some organized crime
groups are using the proceeds to fund terrorist activities in other
parts of the world," Fantino said.

He called hydroponic marijuana grow operations "an epidemic" in
Toronto. Grow ops sprout up in apartment buildings and houses,
negatively impacting property values, while mould from the humid
growing conditions pose health hazards.

Recently, Monte Kwinter, minister of community safety and correctional
services, introduced legislation to help local authorities to identify
and combat grow ops, largely by flagging excessively high hydro usage.

"The Supreme Court of Canada has put some sanity back in to what was
otherwise an insane proposition that there be restrictions placed on
the police (related to privacy) from checking the heat source through
a roof from a helicopter," Fantino said.

Marijuana is often used as currency on the street in exchange for
other drugs or guns, Fantino noted, adding a mature hydroponic
marijuana plant fetches $1,000 on the street.

Identity theft is "the fastest growing and most serious economic crime
in North America," according to the Canadian Bankers Association, the
luncheon heard.

Birth certificates, social insurance cards and driver's licences are
often stolen to obtain credit cards, bank loans, even mortgages,
Fantino said.

Espionage is also on the rise, and so employers should be especially
vigilant in their conduct of background and reference checks on
potential employees, he urged.

"Some of these very significant hits on the corporate or financial
sector has been through inside illegal activities," Fantino said.

The National Identity Theft Working Group is comprised of law
enforcement agencies, business and financial sector representatives
and government agency representatives, but requires "supportive
legislation," he argued.

"Insurance companies, financial institutions, large corporations, even
small businesses must practise strict due diligence by knowing their
clients and their employees, carefully scrutinizing their credentials
and immediately reporting any suspicious circumstances to
authorities," he said.