Bureaucrats, pols

THIS week the ability
of the police to fight
organized crime has
taken another hit.

Once again, the bad guys
win and polidicians are behind
their victory.

Last spring Attorney:
General Ujjal Dosanjh
appointed a “blue ribbon”
panel to investigate how we
fight organized crime in B.C.
The panel was struck in the
face of enticism directed at the
Coordinated Law
Enforcement Unit (CLEU)
foliowing the arrest of special
constable Phillip “Tsang on
various corruption charges.

Former deputy AG and
Ombudsman Stephen Owen
led the panel. They reported
back to Dosanjh Last week
prompting him to announce
the tonal dismantiing of the
organization. Bur Dosanjh
seems to have chosen to tess
the baby out witch the bathwa-
ter.

Regular readers of this col-

umn will know Twas no fan of

the way CLEU had evolved
— a bumbling, bureaucratic,
clique-ridden, incfivetive and
ponderous establishment. |
have publicly called for the
dismissal of Director [eter
Engstad and his cronies, who
are the reason for the failures

Leg
(Knight

ertuic and
punishment

of the once proud and effee
tive weapon in the battle
against organized crime.

The panel arrived at much
the same conclusions as did 1
or any other watcher of
CLEU, No doubt ii should
have been gurted and re-built
and all the civilian leadership
re-assigned to more suitable
tasks in the ministry of paper
clips and staple supptics.

The little cliques and
empires painstakingly built in
tie past decade shouiat be
scrapped and redesigned with
sonipetent police Manavers at
the head.

While Dosanjh and his
bureaucrats sit around agoniz:
ing about what to do about
something they know nothing
about, the groups engaged in
organized crime have become
larger, more insidious and
stronger than ever.

To add to the problem, the
ROMP's division commander,

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Murray Johnston, has decreed
there shall be ne turther over

time expenditures tor Mourtic

units working drugs and other
related sections, including
their organized crime squads.

Johinston’s edicts alse
Affest Many other RCMP ser-
vices. lover a budget short
tall of fess than S9 million.

The Mounties, tor their
part, tre trving te play “die
good soldier” saving, publicly
at least, that services to the
public will not be adversely
affected. On the surface this is
true. Bur it vill be the intan
gibles that will suffer.

How Could a squad con-
ducting surveillance ona tar-
geted crime figure function
without an overtime budget?

Realistically, what do they
do if) say, they have intorma-
tion that a particular acai
involving illicit guns is going
to happen on a certain day
involving a particular target
and, come tive o"cdock, the
target hasn’t vet moved? (Bad
guys are traditionally unreli-
able and tend not to keep to
fined schedules.)

Does the squad leader sim-
ply shut down the operation
so.as not to incur overtime?
Apparently, according to
Johnston's instructions, Now
this is just an example, but 21
guarantee this will happen in a

Wednesday. October

7.1998 -- North Shore News - 7

mt have a CLEU

Variety of Greamsnainces until
the buctyet shup is nahted.

What about the revular
olficers who are sh seduled to
attend court ona day off? Do
they stay home and allow the
accused to walk because ofa
fick of evidence? Or do they
wive up already precious time
offto donate more voluntary
overime out of a sense of
dat?

This latest blow to the
morale of the force comes
alter Johnston has already
reneged on a negotiated set:
tlement to provide Lower
Mainland members with a
special living allowance to par:
ually compensate for the high-
cr cost of living in the Greater
Vancouver Regional District.

The budget issues for the
RCMP have resulted in many
positions remaining unfilled.
The open spots number in the
hundreds and are growing.

Inevitably service to the public

has to suffer and through po
jault of the police force.

On this issue, at least,
Posanjh is on the right side,
having said he will lobby the
federal solicitor general and
the treasury board to solve the
budgetary issues. But P had to
scolf when the AG said on
Monday he had been tony
unaware of the problems at
CLEC until he received the

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report trom the Owen panel
On CRNW's Rate Mair
program Monday Dosangh
said Phere have been tric
nons berween the operavonal
wing and the policy analysis
wing, essentially a Lack of
trust. Dhad heard about those
issues but not ina Very serous
way and T didn’t serr of
believe that because Pd heard
then nan informal wav.”
The problems have been
going on tor at least the past
seven or cight vears. Hf the
attorney general didn’t know
what was going on, clearly he
should have. His bureaucratic
subordinates should have

made sure he was informed. If

they did not advise the man
responsible as the provinge’s
chief law enforcement ofticer
that the department specitical-
Iv tasked with investigating
organized crime was hand-

curted bv its own inetiicien
cies. Then that person or per
sons should be dismissed.

It on the other hand,
Dosanjh did know and pres ar
icated on his responsibility
then he should resign.

The fact that nothing bas
been done until che Owen
report has allowed the various
Aspects oF organized crime to
Hourish virtually unimpeded.

The upshot of all dis is
simple really, CLEU ito fonger
CNISTS,

For the interim at feast, the
responsibilities will be down-
loaded to the municipal torces
and the detachments of the
RCMP. But there’s no money
for them to do anything.

Meanwhile the gangs are
making more and more
monev All the ume as the
bureaucrats dither.

o— lkuinht@divect.ca

posse tos scooo

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