By Alex Docking

Strip clubs in London, Brandon not raising organized crime concern

Apr 17, 2015 | 5:53 PM

By banning strippers from performing in bars, the Saskatchewan government is hoping to keep organized crime from becoming involved, but police in other Canadian cities say it isn’t much of a concern in their communities.

In London, a city of about 350,000 in southwest Ontario, police did discover that the operator of one of four adult entertainment bars there was connected to the Hells Angels. 

“They’ve revoked their licence and they have closed the establishment as a result,” said Cst. Ken Steeves of the London Police Service.

That bar, known as “Famous Flesh Gordon’s”, remains closed two years later. Beyond that one business, Steeves said organized crime has not been an issue with strip clubs in his city.

“We definitely don’t see an increase in crime in and around these facilities,” said Steeves.

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He says they are aware of the potential for human trafficking associated with the adult entertainment industry, but have no reports of that happening in their area.
 
In Brandon, which is next door to Saskatchewan in Manitoba, there is one bar with strippers. The Keystone has been in business some 30 years.

“We’ve had no more or less problems than any other bar in Brandon,” said Sgt. Kevin McLean with the Brandon Police Service. He says there have seen no sign of any organized crime nor human trafficking connections to that one strip club in town.   

On Thursday, the Saskatchewan government announced it would allow strippers at charity events held in facilities other than bars.

Don McMorris, the minister responsible for Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming, said the government did not want to create any opportunity to attract the criminal element of the stripping industry.

“From the evidence that we’ve been given and what we’ve learned from other jurisdictions, the criminal element really is around the strip club aspect of it, you know night after night they own the clubs, and that’s why we wanted to back away from that,” McMorris said.

“That’s been the evidence from down east.”

McMorris didn’t specify where “down east”.

In a recent interview with News Talk Radio, Calgary police said they have not found any connection between strip clubs and organized crime or human trafficking. Police in that city said the businesses are rigorously screened to keep out organized crime. 

panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AlexDocking