POLICE BANK ON MOZART TO FIGHT YOUNG CRIMINALS

Classical Music A Weapon In Crackdown

Hamilton police might be getting a little help from Mozart and his ilk as
they try to clean up the downtown area of muggers, prostitutes and druggies.

In addition to putting more policemen on the street, they'll be making some
simple environmental changes to make the core area less welcoming to young
people involved in the criminal subculture. This might involve putting
better lighting and trimming back shrubs in areas where they turn tricks
and sell drugs, closing off stairways at Jackson Square where they hang out
and playing classical music in spots where young criminals congregate.

For street-wise teens weaned on Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy, the dulcet strains
of Mozart and company grate like fingernails on a blackboard. For example,
teenagers who used to congregate in front of a downtown bingo hall
scattered like rats from a burning ship after the owners started playing
the classics. Constable Greg Doerr said police will be introducing more of
these measures as the next phase of Project Bernie, which was established
three weeks ago to stem the rash of muggings in the downtown core.

During the first phase of the project, members of street crime and drug
units targeted criminals in the core area where people were getting mugged
with impunity. There have been 32 robberies in and around the core since
January, including three purse snatchings. Described as crimes of
opportunity, the robberies are quick and impulsive and invariably involve
drug users. One of the most egregious incidents occurred earlier this month
when a 42-year-old crack addict snatched the purse of a tiny 77-year-old
who had just cashed her pension cheque.

But the victims have been mostly young people who were accosted and
strong-armed for personal possessions such as compact disc players and
jewelry. The muggers were almost always trying to raise quick cash to buy
drugs, such as crack cocaine. Some of the victims were users themselves who
were robbed while trying to buy drugs.

In the last three weeks, members of Project Bernie have cleared 22 of the
muggings, charged 25 people with various offences and seized about $1,700
worth of cocaine and crack cocaine.

The increased vigilance in downtown led Project Bernie officers to a
Cathcart Street crack house earlier this week. They arrested more than a
dozen people during the raid, including two hard core drug dealers and five
known prostitutes. They also charged two people who showed up to sell some
drugs.

While he was in the crack house, Doerr asked one of the prostitutes whether
she was working for a pimp.

"No," she replied, "my pipe is my pimp." Between tricks, she apparently
returned to the house to smoke crack.

"It's an insidious drug," said Doerr who has worked the downtown streets as
a member of the HEAT unit. "Everything comes back to drugs. Everyday I see
somebody like that (whose life has been completely dominated by drugs)."

Last year, he encountered a 32-year-old chartered accountant who had been
earning a six figure salary and driving a BMW until he became hooked on
crack. By the time Doerr arrested him, he was living from hand-to-mouth on
the street and stealing cigarettes to raise money to buy drugs.

Doerr's main concern, however, is for the innocent victims of street crime
like the 15-year-old mugged two weeks ago on his way to the Caribana
concert on Bay Front park.

Near Bay and Barton Street, he was accosted by a 16-year-old and two
nasty-looking companions. They had seen the silver crucifix hanging around
his neck and ordered him to hand it over. With the implied threats of
violence, he had little choice but to comply.

Doerr described the victim as a "great kid" who wasn't involved in drugs or
the street culture and who had gotten the crucifix as a gift to commemorate
his confirmation in the Roman Catholic Church.

He has since identified the robber and was hoping to recover the stolen
crucifix yesterday.