Poli

A copy of a letter writ-
ten to the Prime
Minister, Premier
Clark, Mayor Owen
and the Immigration
Minister was given to
me recently.

It's written by a
Vancouver police sergeant, a
veteran of nearly 30 years in
the war on crime.

It is, in part, a retlection
on what he has seen in his
career, But it is also an
expression of the frustration
he feels at the way the system
has abjectly failed the citizens
of our country.

What follows are the
words, not of an academic or
a politically correct ivory
tower resident, but ofa street
cop.

[asked for, and received,
his permission co share his
thoughts with you.

“TP recently read an article
in the Canadian Reader's
Digest magazine that really
impacted upon me just how
much our country and my

rovince have gone down
hill. That this would reach
print in this middle-of-the-
road magazine is a strong
indicator as to how low we
have actually sunk.

“The story involved
young heroin-addicted per-
sons from across the county,
dying trom overdoses or
going through rehab in Port
Moody B.C., a minuscule
municipality about 30 km
from the downtown drug-
infested core of Vancouver.

“The article outlines hero-
in usage by tcens in high
schools, devastated parents,
deeply cancerned teachers
and police officials trying to
deal with the problems of
Asian drug traffickers in that

~ tiny community.

“I have been with the
police for 28 years and dur-
ing that period of time I have
seen all sorts of changes to

VA GAT

May 02-June 19
May 02-July 17

May 02-July 3

—

crime and
punishment

the City of Vancouver and
none have been for the ber
ter. Ecan recall almost to the
day when the first Uzi
machine gun was found in
Vancouver and it was in the

“Everyone can’t
be a victim; there
has to be a

predator

somewhere.”

—— Vancouver Police
Sgt. Al Robson

é

hands of an alleged refugee.

“[ watched as the one-
time drug trade controlled in
the most part by Caucasians,
mostly of Canadian birth, is
now being controlled by the
guests we welcomed into this
country.”

“In the "80s, when |
worked the drug squad in
Vancouver, heroin traffickers
were given five- to 10-year
sentences and the street level
trafficker was deathly afraid of
the police.

“Today traffickers see fines
of less than $500 or proba-
tion as a standard and drug
trafficking is so blatant that

ce sergeant says

—1,, Leo
” Knight

the police can’t keep up with
the number of on-sight deals
being made on the streets fet
alone the phone trade and

major importation purchases.

“Thad 12 vears on the job
when Vancouver had its tirst
drive-by shooting and since
then we have gang murders
in abundance. The deceased
and the shooters are not, in
the most part, of Canadian
birth.

“It is extremely difficult to
write a letter of this nature
without being politically
incorrect. But the evidence is
overwhelming that some of
the alleged refugees from
Honduras, Vietnam, India,
China, El Salvador and other
places of the world, including
Russia and Iran, have set
upon this country like jackals.

“They have set up their
own rules, their own meth-
ads of policing their criminal
activities, and their own war
zones, the likes of which the
police of Canada have never
seen before.

“[ see a great shame on
this country, and in particular
the government, in the man-
ner in which we portray our-
selves to be complete fools by
allowing this catastrophe to
continue.

“The cost to the law-abid-
ing citizens of Canada is
tremendous to support the
legal system and the police as
well as the convicted refugee
and his support group.

“To what end?

“It recycles. It keeps the
‘system’ alive and employed.
And it takes huge amounts of
money to operate. Taxpayers”
money. Actually, my moncy!
And I don’t Jike the way ir’s

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Wednesday, April 7, 1999 — North Shore News - 7

system has gone soft

being spent ar all.

“Jn British Columbia we
support those whose choice
in hfe is to be drug-addicted.

“We supply them welfare,
which goes to their drag sup-
plier, medical programs and
care, and free ncedles to
inject their deug of choice.

“B.C is even considering
giving them warm indoor
locations in which to inject
themselves te get high to
eseape the world “they”
made for themselves, This of
course will increase the drug
trade as more users come into
Vancouver to be a part of yet
another open-door, open-arm
policy.

“Personaily, T don’t want
to pay to raise addicts or give
them money tor their drugs,
or pay the healthy and able-
bodied welfare to Nop around
coffee shops.

“] don’t want sacoting
galleries erupting like boils in
neighbourhoods. 1 don’t
want to pay for a justice sys
tem out of control or judges
with spines of tapioca and
sugar plum thoughts of the
purity of the law rather than
common sense.

“There just doesn't seem
to be any responsibility or
accountability taken on by
these individuals for them-
selves, their actions or deci-
sions. Everyone can’t be a
victim; there has to be a
predator somewhere.

“The answer to most of
these problems exists in the
Narcotic Control! Act,
Controlled Substance Act,
Criminal Code and
Imunigration Act.

Ores edt .

If utilized properly, with-
out searching for excuses not
to inearcerate or deport, and

all the other associated non-
sense, this country could
probably slowly start to turn
around,

“More prisons may have
to be a reality until it does.

See System page 9

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