(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Gangs

Gang ‘suppression’ initiative results in 35 arrests

Jul 26, 2019 | 12:29 PM

The deputy chief for the Prince Albert Police Service says gangs are visible in the city and contribute to a number of issues including both property and violent crime.

Jason Stonechild’s remarks are in response to a recent gang suppression initiative carried out by the Prince Albert Police Service and members from the RCMP, which resulted in 35 arrests and a significant amount of drugs and weapons being seized including guns, knives and machetes. Stonechild explained initiatives like this means the police service has to take resources from other areas, and focus them on that strategy.

“We recognize with the amount of calls we take, and the violent nature of the calls we take here in Prince Albert, that our frontline members are stressed and so it’s a sacrifice right across the board however it’s a sacrifice for the greater good,” Stonechild said.

The high-visibility enforcement initiative included increased patrols across the city, curfew checks and vehicle stops on known offenders. Stonechild said officers are fully aware when they go to homes, that the person on the other side of the door likely has a gun.

“It’s something we deal with on a weekly basis but we do have specialized units here that focus on drugs and weapons and gangs and they quite frequently have success with search warrants or checking these high risk individuals,” he said.

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Included with the drugs seized by police during the recent initiative were 122 grams of cocaine, and 83.3 grams of methamphetamine, plus 10 syringes filled with methamphetamine totalling between one and 2.5 grams. Stonechild said he was happy with the results of the initiative.

“When we do get creative and think outside the box from the traditional responsive training for policing then we see success like this,” he said.

A recent report from Statistics Canada revealed Prince Albert was sixth in the country in terms of its crime severity index. Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne said he was happy to hear about the success of the gang suppression initiative, but added he felt it was” just a start.”

“We are tired of the drugs and we are tired of the gangs,” he said.

Dionne said city council and the board of police commissioners will continue to help support the police in any way they can.

“The board is solidly behind their efforts to knock down drugs and gangs and that’s the number one concern of council, so there will be no issue coming from either party,” he said.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell