DRUG PROGRAM TOUTED AS CRIMEFIGHTER

Properly funding and expanding the Calgary Drug Treatment Court will
help curb the seemingly rampant rise of crime and drug use in the
city's downtown core, said committee chair Mark Tyndale.

The program, which sees selected addicts undergo rehabilitation and
job training rather than face prison time, has had just two applicants
since the court's first sitting May 10.

However, Tyndale said the small number of cases reflects the small
percentage of addicts responsible for the bulk of drug-related crimes.

"A very small number of hard-core drug addicts, probably in Calgary
between 70 and 200, commit a disproportionately high portion of the
criminal offences," said the local lawyer, who added the program will
ultimately make a dent in drug-fuelled crime "one abuser at a time."

Tyndale said many addicts need thousands of dollars per week to fuel
their habits and for most, crime is the only way to get it.

Crime and drug use have long gone hand-in-hand, he added, but only in
recent years has the issue become high-profile in Calgary.

"As soon as you put a push on to rehabilitate one area ... addicts
simply move on to another area and that happens to be the downtown
core right now," said Tyndale.

"The reason that is gaining publicity is that's where all the suits go
to work and they have to walk across these people on the sidewalk."

The two men enrolled in the program qualified because they were facing
lengthy sentences for non-violent, drug-related crimes, and will spend
an additional 12 months in counselling and rehabilitation.

The city has committed $100,000 over the next two years to fund the
five-bed program, but Tyndale said it will take financial commitment
from the province and feds to make it work long-term.

Police Chief Jack Beaton last week lauded the program and its
mandatory testing, saying it takes more than just enforcement to break
the cycle of addiction and crime.

"There are social agencies that deal with (addiction) and we need to
engage them," he said.