DRUG DENS ON POLICE HIT LIST

Edmonton Force Considers Expansion of South-Side's Drug-Busting Program

The in-your-face antics of an Edmonton police detective have stirred
up criticism over his unconventional drug house busting tactics, but
his results have been so successful police are now considering
expanding the program city-wide.

Const. Maurice Brodeur has headed up the 'Report a Drug House'
initiative on the city's south side since police realized, he says,
that traditional law enforcement couldn't put a dent in the
proliferation of city drug dens.

"The normal way wasn't working," he told Metro yesterday. "Why do the
courts need to be the core of policing solutions? The fact is, they
don't. There was another way."

Rather than going after the drugs and issuing search warrants --
which is labour-intensive and involves a court system plagued with
long delays -- Brodeur works with other departments to harass
suspected dealers so badly that they either cease operations or move
out of town, he says.

Fines are issued for uninsured cars, unlicensed pets, noisy parties
and snow-covered sidewalks. Brodeur even calls city health inspectors
to have them issue cleanup orders and condemn properties. He's called
landlords to assist in forcing evictions or getting the fire
department to make fire code inspections and often introduces himself
to suspected drug dealers as their "harassment officer" -- but always
with a smile, he says, chuckling.

"They're not the big bad drugs houses that you see in the movies," he
explains, noting most dealers, however, seem to have a movie poster
of Scarface on the wall and a pit bull in the yard.

"I call them mosquito homes. There's a lot of activity, they're
humming all night, and you can't sleep."

To date, Brodeur has investigated 186 tips on suspected drug houses
made to police. In nine months, 51 drug dens were shut down employing
his tactics and neighbours have applauded the results.

If a drug dealer simply moves and sets up shop in another home,
Brodeur knocks on their new door and starts making their life
miserable all over again.

"They remember me and know the drill," he says.

While Edmonton is considering a city-wide implementation and Grande
Prairie Police will run a trial program in May, the unconventional
tactics have faced criticism from some in the legal community who
suggest such tactics could be considered unconstitutional and illegal.

Steven Penney, a legal expert at the University of Alberta, says
Brodeur's methods could be a form of abusive process since citizens
are so heavily singled out and harassed.

"That's a very difficult lawsuit to actually win, however, since
courts tend to give broad latitude to police and prosecutors and
perhaps the targets of these initiatives wouldn't be too motivated to
(sue) because it may reveal their own criminal activity," he says.

Brodeur, meanwhile, denies anything he does is illegal and notes that
external police forces in Wetaskiwin and Drayton Valley have actually
expressed interest in running the program as well.