CITY WANTS THE LOOT

Over the past 14 years, more than $200 million in proceeds from
criminal activity have ended up in Ottawa's general revenues, rather
than being returned for local law enforcement initiatives.

Proceeds of crime include cash, and other assets seized by the courts
and sold because they were used for criminal activity. The proceeds
are transferred to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, where the
money ends up in general accounts, rather than being returned to the
communities in which the ill-gotten loot was gathered.

Meanwhile, the local costs of collecting the proceeds are
significant.

While no local figures were available by Leader press time Friday, a
1998 report to Parliament indicates that 246 full-time RCMP officers
are assigned throughout Canada to the proceeds of crime initiative, at
a cost of $38 million annually.

A spokesman for the B.C. Solicitor General's office said Thursday that
the province pays 70 per cent of the costs of a proceeds of crime unit
based in Newton.

Federal Solicitor General Wayne Easter indicated last week that the
proceeds of crime won't be returned to enhance local crime-fighting
initiatives.

Easter was in Surrey on Wednesday to view the increasing problem of
marijuana grow operations, and to take recommendations back to Ottawa
that could include stiffer penalties for offenders.

But he said that Surrey shouldn't look forward to having proceeds of
crime help pay for the city's annual policing bill, which amounts to
about $50 million annually.

"I don't think we want to find ourselves in a situation where we're
depending on the proceeds of crime to look after the costs of law
enforcement, it's a bigger issue than that," Easter told a small group
of reporters at Whalley's community policing office.

"We have been making progress in (the law enforcement) area, we've
increased the funding for both organized crime and national security
issues in budget 2001.

"There's always more that can be done, not just on a proceeds of crime
issue."

Since proceeds of crime legislation was enacted in in 1989, more than
$200 million has been collected by the federal government and socked
away in general revenues.

Surrey-North MP Chuck Cadman said that money should come back to where
it's needed, not just funneled into the nation's general revenue,
which can be used to pay for any government cost.

"Nothing gets fed back into law enforcement," Cadman said Wednesday.
"It should be going back into law enforcement, with the proper
safeguards."

At the request of The Leader, one of Cadman's assistants found that
the money has been channeled into an account that includes fines
collected by the Canadian government, as well as foreign loans repaid.

The assistant, despite the help of the federal librarian, was unable
to determine how the money is being dispersed.

Easter suggested Friday that at least some of the money is used for
the legal process.

"One of the problems of the proceeds of crime, and we have to
recognize that, is the amount of those proceeds it takes to pay for
the legal bills," Easter said.

Coun. Dianne Watts is agitated that those funds aren't making it back
to where they're needed most.

She agrees with Easter that added funding alone won't solve Surrey's
crime problem. But the city's growing problem of marijuana grow
operations, which are run by organized crime, should be funded
entirely by Ottawa.

"If we need additional police officers on our street to deal with the
organized crime issue, that is clearly a federal mandate, then that
should be funded."

As for as the proceeds of crime, Surrey is paying to have those
proceeds collected, Watts said.

"Our police officers are on the street getting evidence to build a
case, doing the surveillance, executing warrants ... plus the overtime
to deal with these issues," Watts said. "And the city is footing the
bill."

Watts said the city has endorsed a Federation of Canadian
Municipalities motion to have a portion of the proceeds of crime
redirected to their host cities.