POLICE DENY IGNORING ALLEGED CRACK HOUSE

Police Yesterday Dismissed Claims They Were Ignoring The Presence Of A
Crack House In Warwick

An area landowner yesterday publicly accused officers of failing to
investigate a known haven for drug users in Hillview Estate despite
the many complaints he had made about it to them.

Officers denied any knowledge of the property -- detailed by a
correspondent signing himself "Concerned" in a Letter to the Editor of
The Royal Gazette -- but admitted there was little they could do
without proof of illegal activity. "Unfortunately, we have a lot of
homes in Bermuda that are used specifically as crack houses," said
police media spokesperson Dwayne Caines. "And what we do, is make
arrests in and around those areas we know to be frequented by people
who are trafficking, selling and using narcotics. It's something we do
on a regular basis.

"It's an unfortunate reality of the times we live in. One first has to
ascertain whether it is a house where its residents are involved in
untoward activity or whether it's an abandoned building that's being
used.

"If it's a legitimate dwelling, all we can do is raid the house. If we
don't find anything, we can't kick somebody out of their own property
(based on an accusation). If we do find something and it's enough to
make an arrest, unless the owner of the house is there or aware of
what's going on, we can't arrest that person.

"If it's an abandoned building it's up to whoever's responsible to
send the owner a notice and get it boarded up. There's a lot of
variables. It's a pretty complicated process and, unfortunately
involves more than just a one-spot answer."

In his appeal for assistance, the letter writer said area residents
live in "fear" because of the impact the crack house is having on
their environment. "There is presently and has been for a number of
years, a crack house in (Hillview Estate) that has consistent traffic
arriving and leaving all hours of the day and night," the
correspondent wrote.

"There are several cars, truck, bikes which frequent this crack house.
There are even those who come on foot.....As I am sure you will agree,
it is impossible to live without fear. This behaviour promotes an
unsafe/uncertain environment for everyone.

"I have made phone calls and written to many Bermuda officials,
including the Bermuda Police Service without success or response. I
suspect the police know this 'dealer' very well. I am remiss to
speculate as to why there has been no response (action) regarding this
unsafe situation (crack house)."

He concluded the letter, describing it as a public appeal to the
community and the police force in hopes that "someone please tell
(him) what to do".

Without specific details, Mr. Caines could offer little else on the
subject but referred this reporter to the Police Support Unit -- an
arm of the force which monitors antisocial behaviour, large-scale
disturbances and drug areas across the island.

"We vet those on a daily basis," said Inspector Steve Donnelly. "We
always pay attention to those areas. There aren't many crack houses on
the island -- that the police are aware of -- where it's apparent that
they're crack houses.

"There are several houses on the island which are used for dealing in
drugs but it's kept very low key, very secretive.

"If there is any place where drugs are openly sold, dealt or misused
and it comes to police attention, we always pay that place a visit
with a warrant or, if there's no known owner, we go there and check it
out. The problem is that people are very loathe to report these things
to the police because they don't want to get involved."

Like Mr. Caines, Insp. Donnelly said he was not aware of a crack house
in Hillview Estate. However he encouraged "Concerned" to lodge another
complaint with the relevant arm of the force.

"We know there's places where drugs are misused -- especially during
the night," he said. "We regularly pay attention, to perhaps three or
four which we know are empty. There's nobody living there.

"They're derelict places, but at certain times, like on a Friday or
Saturday night between 1 and 4 in the morning, we know that people go
there to either shoot up or smoke drugs because it's out of the way
and there's no lights or electricity so they can do it in virtual
peace. So we go and check out those places and we have made arrests in
these places.

"I don't know who he's spoken to, but if anybody contacts the Police
Support Unit with information about a place where drugs are being
misused or sold, we always follow that up. If anybody has specific
information about a known drug house, rather than just speaking to a
passing officer, call and ask for the Police Support Unit or the
Narcotics Unit.

"Do not just speak to a passing police officer. Make sure that you
call and give us as much information as you can, and we'll follow it
up."

Labour, Home Affairs & Public Safety Minister Randolph Horton did not
answer our request for a comment yesterday.