GETTING TOUGH ON DRUG HOUSES

Program May Walk A Fine Line But The Results Speak For
Themselves

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

That's one way to describe how a program designed to shut down drug
houses in community neighbourhoods has come about.

The Report a Drug House program, which was pioneered by the Edmonton
Police, is now currently operating in Grande Prairie.

And with some degree of success, according to RCMP Const. Tony Walker,
who has been put in charge of the local program.

In just over a month, Walker says close to 10 known drug houses have
been shut down in the city.

That's good news for all law-abiding citizens to hear and no doubt
there will be more to come as the people in and around those drug
houses pick up and move on -- trying to find someplace more
inconspicuous to traffick their crystal meth and other assorted street
drugs.

But despite its successes, the program itself is not lauded by
all.

Tactics which include targeting the suspected homes for various,
relatively minor, bylaw offences border on harassment in the eyes of
some.

Those offences can include such things as not cutting the grass, or
leaving garbage out, or not having a licence for a dog on the
premises. Sometimes, Walker will simply park his vehicle in front of
the suspected house and do paperwork -- all the while keeping his eye
on any traffic in the vicinity.

As he says, the idea isn't to make arrests but to harass the suspected
criminals so much that they pack up and move.

If they move to another location and get back to their old tricks,
which some undoubtedly do, Walker feels he will eventually find out
about it and he'll pay them a few more visits.

Walker isn't under the illusion that drugs, druggies and their drug
houses can ever be permanently removed from neighbourhoods, but knows
full well that limiting their ability to conduct business is a major
step in the right direction.

And while the tactics may be questioned by some, Walker notes that not
one complaint has been filed against him or the RCMP in more than one
month on the job.

The program is effective, makes our neighbourhoods safer and appears
to operate on the right side of the law. If it doesn't, the Canadian
court system is there to rectify the situation, and we have to have
confidence it would do so if needed.

Until that happens though, we applaud an initiative that puts the
rights of law-abiding citizens ahead of the feelings of those who
would rather peddle drugs to our children.

To report a suspected drug house in your neighbourhood, call the
program's hotline.