RECOGNIZE A DRUG HOUSE?

Brodeur Tells Neighbourhoods How To Fight Back And Win

His name is Maurice Brodeur and he's a detective with the Edmonton
Police Service.

But the bad guys know him by another name - Officer Harassment.

In the past 18 months, Officer Harassment has developed a reputation
for a remarkable amount of success in shutting down community drug
houses in the capital city.

But perhaps what's surprising is he's done it by staying out of the
court system and has made few arrests. He's done it by intimidating
drug dealers, using city bylaws and health regulations to fine them
and condemn their houses and has generally made their lives so
miserable they pack up and leave. His name is so well-deserved, it's
how he introduces himself when knocking on the doors of suspected drug houses.

"I say 'Hi, I'm your harassment officer, I'm going to see you gone.' "

Originally from Falher, Brodeur shared his story and his techniques
Thursday in Grande Prairie in three separate sessions - first with
city council and administrators, then with regional RCMP officers and
last night he spoke to about 35 members of the public.

In a calm and relaxed presentation, he explained how in the summer of
2005 he was working as a constable at an Edmonton southside
detachment when a supervisor decided to experiment. He pulled Brodeur
off regular duty, freeing him from having to respond to daily calls
and told him to be creative and take on the drug houses.

"I said 'I will not repeat failure,' " Brodeur told the crowd.

So instead of doing standard drug work, surveillance and evidence
gathering that could lead to arrests and long court battles, he
walked up and knocked on the doors and started his harassment
campaign. If he found a dirty yard, a snow-covered sidewalk or an
unlicensed dog, bylaw officers were dispatched to the house with a
ticket book. If Brodeur noticed the house seemed rundown or unsafe,
health and fire inspectors would make surprise visits. When he had to
do paperwork, he would park his cruiser right in front of the house
and do the work from inside the car.

"No cockroach likes the light," he said.

His creative approaches were so effective, he's credited with
shutting down an average of a dozen drug houses a month on Edmonton's
south side - nearly 200 in all. He was promoted from constable to detective.

Brodeur's message Thursday night was not about his personal success
and efforts, but about community involvement and how big a role the
community played.

"We knew we had to get the public onside," he said. "The majority of
the public wants to be involved, the majority of the public likes the police."

The more Brodeur became active in the communities, the more
neighbours and dog walkers he spoke with, the more the word spread.
And his efforts became the framework for the Edmonton Police
Service's Report a Drug House program.

At one point, Brodeur said, he had more intelligence reports coming
into him than the rest of the entire Edmonton Police Service combined.

At first he thought there were only a few drug houses, but one week
after going public with the campaign, he had 48 suspected drug houses
and, after nine months, 186. Most of the houses were what Brodeur
calls mid-level houses, where there's lots of traffic in and out. In
many cases there were high levels of property crime in the blocks
surrounding the houses that would drop after a house was shut down.

But because arrests were rarely made, the drug houses could often
reappear elsewhere - but so would Brodeur. He'd arrive at the new
drug house and open up his bag of tricks again.

Now, the Edmonton Police Service is trying to take the program city-wide.

After his presentation, Brodeur admitted the system isn't perfect,
but said when drug houses reappear, they're often smaller and quieter
and carry less of a presence in the community.

"I'm a realist. I know it'll never be solved. I'm trying to do what I
can," he said.

The presentation appealed to Al Timms, who said he believes there's a
drug house on his street and was looking for help and answers.

"It's hideous because of the increase in traffic. My neighbours are
leaving in fear. I'm not, but people are worried, they're scared."

Timms said he doesn't blame the RCMP for inaction, but hopes
Brodeur's Report-a -Drug House program can be established in Grande Prairie.

"I think this could be a very good thing."

Karen Gariepy, manager of the city's Community Action on Crime
Prevention department, said setting up Brodeur's program is the
eventual goal but it won't happen overnight.

"I think this evening was fantastic. The community wants to see
something happen. There's things in the works," she said.

Brodeur said ultimately the program will depend on the public
buying-in and reporting suspicious activity to police, even if it
looks like little is being done.

"It's in the results. The public took a chance and put their faith in
me. They want someone who can do this,, they're desperate for it. The
police will have fun doing this because it gets results."