RCMP STATE CRIME RATES DOWN IN CITY

Wetaskiwin Times Advertiser -- Maybe it was the game on television, maybe
the warm night prompted a sudden desire to do a little yard work -- but few
seemed concerned with policing in Wetaskiwin.

Unlike the town hall meeting in October which packed the Moose Hall to
standing room capacity, the May 19 meeting drew less than 50 people -- some
with concerns about drug and alcohol abuse, others concerned about untidy
allies.

"Our key focus is to listen to the community and see what issues are out
there," RCMP Insp. Brian Simpson told the audience. Simpson said speeders
in school zones are still a concern, but lauded Wetaskiwin bylaw and the
use of photo radar for the definite reduction in the number of speeders
barreling down city streets.

The meeting also afforded Simpson the opportunity to introduce RCMP
officers in attendance, particularly Const. Kevin Krebs who is taking the
helm of a new traffic services program. More visible in the community,
Krebs' task will be to patrol city streets and deal specifically with
traffic related offences.

Opening the discussion to the floor, one audience participant drew the
meeting into the gravity of substance abuse in the community and the
growing concerns surrounding crystal meth. But Simpson said Wetaskiwin has
yet to see a significant rise in meth use citing the drug of choice on
Wetaskiwin's streets, for the time being, remains alcohol followed by crack
cocaine. He said communities like Camrose, Ponoka and Drayton Valley have
been bombarded with meth use and attributed it to a spike in crimes there.

Conversely, Wetaskiwin's crime rate has actually dropped from 198 criminal
code cases per officer in 2002 to 174.83 cases in 2003. However, the war
against crack continues with the success of several undercover operations,
including one being carried out at the time of the October town hall meeting.

"It continues to be a top priority. We were in the middle of an undercover
operation during the (first open house) meeting last year, but I couldn't
really advertise that."

But Simpson continued to stress the ultimate weapon in the drug war
continues to be education and community involvement. Talk about it, bring
the issue to the forefront of the community.

"I don't want a drug dealer living next door to me and I know you don't."