CITY POLICE EXPAND ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS

Alberta's booming economy has created an exploding drug use problem in
Edmonton that will soon be put in check with expanded anti-crime
initiatives, police officials announced yesterday.

Highly-addictive drugs like crystal meth and crack cocaine have
flooded neighbourhoods that used to be clean, causing spinoff
activities like theft and gang membership to increase, said downtown
police Insp. Brian Noland.

"With the Alberta advantage comes the drugs and everything else
associated with it," he told Metro yesterday.

"We've been noticing an increase in illegal drug use in the city and
it's growing exponentially," he added.

Police have now expanded their Report A Drug House program citywide
after an initial trial on the south side saw 88 suspected drug houses
shut down and another 51 that stopped dealing entirely -- all without
the use of court cases or major arrests.

The program is cited by police as successful and cost-effective
because it partners police with residents, health inspectors, animal
control, social services and bylaw officers to work together in
targeting problem houses.

The combined in-your-face effort usually convinces the occupants to
either stop drug dealing or ship out of town, police said, but legal
experts have complained that the program relies heavily on tactics
that border on an abusive process. Police deny those allegations.