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RCMP SAY DRUGS HARD TO CRACK DOWN ON IN SMALL TOWNS

Moosomin RCMP Say Cracking Down On Drugs And Drug Dealers In Small Towns Is Not As Easy As One Would Think

The RCMP's response to drug use and drug dealers in small towns comes on the heels of a letter to the editor in the May 9 issue of the World-Spectator, in which a worried mother of a drug user expressed her concerns about lack of action against drugs in small towns.  The anonymous letter writer questioned the reason there are so many drug busts on the highway and so few drug busts within small towns.

Moosomin RCMP sergeant John Hodgson says there are a number of reasons for that.

"The number one reason is that in a small town it's difficult to gain intelligence in relation to recent activities at a house," says Hodgson.

"In our line of work, we do know who may be selling drugs out of a house, but in order to take much action on that, we would have to have some intelligence on action in the house.

"The other reason may be that drugs aren't as prevalent as they would be in the city.  I've talked to students who have gone to parties and say that the odd person is smoking marijuana, but most people were drinking."

Hodgson says that before entering a premises to search for drugs, the RCMP must obtain a search warrant and must do what they can to determine whether or not the information they have received about drug-related activity is valid.

"We'll see if there's a lot of traffic in and out of a residence.  We may drive by and see what vehicles are there.  Or we'll talk to the neighbors," says Hodgson.

But Hodgson adds that the RCMP can't simply search a residence if someone tells them they think drugs are being sold there.

"We need a lot more grounds than just that," he says.  "The activity has to be recent.  Someone would have to tell us that they saw the drugs recently and to tell us that it actually was drugs they saw.

We also have to ensure that the person they say is dealing the drugs is, in fact, a resident of the place .  .  .  There's an awful lot of steps that have to take place."

Hodgson points out that a search warrant is an invasion of privacy, and in order to go into a residence, residence, the RCMP would likely need a person who has purchased drugs to come forward and say they saw the drugs.

He says the Moosomin RCMP have never sent anyone in undercover to buy drugs in the area since he's been sergeant, but says the RCMP would go into a residence once they can confirm that the information they have received about drug related activity there was reliable.

"But we don't have people coming forward and saying 'Joe Blow is dealing drugs out of his house,' " says Hodgson.  "As a result of that we try to develop intelligence on our own.

"But when we talk to students, we don't hear that there is a lot of activity.  So maybe there isn't a lot of drug-related activity, or maybe people want to keep the information to themselves because the person charged with dealing drugs may know who came to the police."

Hodgson adds that it is easier to do drug busts in vehicles because the police can find numerous reasons to pull vehicles over, such as expired licences or speeding.  Once they pull a vehicle over, they often notice if there is something drug-related, such as the smell of drugs, in the vehicle, and can take action.

"There are lots of grounds to go in and search a vehicle," says Hodgson.  "It's not the same in a house because you don't have any powers other than a search warrant."

Hodgson says there have been drug seizures in some homes in the area, although he doesn't think anyone has been charged because the quantity of drugs was too small.  When it comes to the latest drug of concern, crystal meth, Hodgson says he's not aware of any problems in the Moosomin area.

"I hear from my counterparts in some areas of the province that it is," he says.  "But crystal meth has not come to our concern yet in this community.  I'm not going to say it's not here.  But it hasn't come to our attention yet."

Hodgson says that when the RCMP talk to students they don't hear that there's lots of drug activity in the area.  "I don't know where this lady ( who wrote the letter to the editor ) got her information, but I'd be willing to sit down with her and talk about it," he says.

Cpl.  Brian Jones, a spokesperson for the RCMP in Regina, says there must be enough evidence of drugs in a residence to satisfy a justice of the peace before obtaining a search warrant.

"The difficulty in small town Moosomin as in small towns everywhere is knowing and proving," says Jones.  "Everyone on coffee row may talk about where kids bought drugs and went out and used them on Friday night .  .  .  But it's rare that someone comes in the front door of the RCMP detachment, provides actual information and puts their name on a statement."

Jones says even when information about drug use or drug dealers in a town filters into the RCMP station, it can take a long time to actually prove that information is true, which must be done in order to search a residence.

He says even if someone saw drugs in an residence and reported it a few days later, that may not be considered recent enough for the RCMP to take action.

"It is challenging," says Jones, "because word of mouth and suspicion are not enough to take that type of action .  .  .  You have to have grounds to believe that the thing you are looking for is in the house."

Jones says this challenge is not unique to small towns, and RCMP or police in the city must deal with matching word of mouth to evidence before searching a residence as well.  While searching a residence is an invasion of privacy, Jones says RCMP can search vehicles they stop if they are suspicious of drugs because the driver can drive away with the drugs if they aren't seized immediately.