DRUG CRACKDOWN REMAINS NO. 1

Drugs are at the top of the list of priorities at the Wetaskiwin RCMP
detachment.

In the detachment's annual business plan, drugs remained the number one
agenda for the region's RCMP.

"When we have spare time, this is where we will emphasize our work," said
Wetaskiwin RCMP Insp. Brian Simpson.

But there also isn't a great deal of spare time for officers in the City
detachment. There are 18 officers here and is the sixth busiest community
in Alberta. The national average of criminal case loads per officer is 67.
Here, it's 198.

"It's a matter of logistics," said Simpson, adding there are a number of
other areas RCMP members would also like to increase its presence.

"We're short DARE officers. We do like the program and we want to do it,
but it takes time and energy. We have need-to-dos and nice-to-dos and DARE
is a nice-to-do."

Simpson said the community only sees the superficial elements of substance
abuse and not the even seedier aspect of crime associated with it. Those
crimes usually involve theft and violence. The next step for RCMP is to
identify the issues directly relating to substance abuse and what steps to
take to alleviate the problem.

"This isn't just an RCMP issue. It crosses a lot of agencies in town."