(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
July 1, 1998)
Crime fight
needs funding
By Leo Knight
IN
the wake of the arrest of Philip Tsang, the former CLEU special
constable charged with criminal breach of trust and obstruction
of justice, the attorney general appointed a "blue
ribbon" panel to investigate how we fight organized crime
here and to look at ways we could do it better.
The
panel is made up of former Vancouver police chief Bob Stewart,
former RCMP commercial crime investigator Richard Bergman, and
former deputy attorney general and ombudsman Stephen Owen. An
interesting mix.
But
is any of this any more than smoke and mirrors? Methinks not.
Just
a few months ago Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh reacted to
reports in the media about the insidious and pervasive
activities of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang.
He
said publicly that he would move immediately to take action
against the group. What did he actually do? Nothing.
In
fact, a specific report was written by several police experts
outlining a plan of how to take on the bikers.
The
plan was described to me as a "blueprint," so precise
was its nature.
It
was written as a response to the AG's comments, to show him
there was a way.
But
did the AG take the report and act on it? Hardly. Apparently it
was too expensive.
Too
expensive to take action on what is arguably the single biggest
organized crime problem we, as a society, have.
The
NDP can spend money like they are "shovelling it off a
truck," to quote our very own boy premier, Glen Clark. They
shovel it to their union pals and shovel something else entirely
to the rest of us. But they can't spend the money required to
effectively fight organized crime.
When
making his public pronouncements, Dosanjh made out like he was
just learning how significant the problem was and, now armed
with the knowledge, he was going to take action.
Oh,
stop it!
He
is more than adequately informed. It's only when the public
becomes informed that he is spurred to action.
However
ineffective that action usually turns out to be is incidental.
But
he is seen to be doing something. And that is, I believe,
exactly what this panel is about.
A
federal organization called Criminal Intelligence Services
Canada (CISC) puts out a report every year that is filed with
the House of Commons and is provided to every provincial
attorney general as a matter of course.
Indeed,
CISC has a branch in every province. In B.C., the branch is
housed in the CLEU offices, funded and administered by this AG.
In
the 1997 report on organized crime, CISC said, "Organized
crime is one of the most insidious forces in the world today.
"Its
influence transcends both physical and political boundaries, and
is felt in all countries and in all fields of human endeavor.
"Historically,
organized crime insinuates itself into industry and the
financial sector, becoming an integral part of both local and
global economies.
"It
forges alliances with nationalist and extremist groups and, in
some cases, actually infiltrates the structure of legitimate
government, effectively becoming a political power in its own
right.
"Despite
the best efforts of law enforcement, organized crime grows ever
more powerful, with an unprecedented potential for
corruption."
This
is a fairly general statement, of course. But one needs to read
on to discern how this concerns us, as Canadians.
"Virtually
every major criminal group in the world is active in this
country and many are well established, their roots sunk deep in
Canadian society and the Canadian economy," states the
report.
"Organized crime has a profound effect on Canadian society, even for those whose lives are not touched directly by criminal activity.
"The
social costs of drug trafficking and abuse, for example,
manifest themselves in violence and rising urban crime rates.
"Government
revenue losses due to contraband smuggling are estimated in the
millions of dollars, while legitimate business is forced to
compete with a powerful and growing black market,"
concludes the experts.
The
report goes on to discuss, in detail, the various groups
involved and their specific involvement and activities,
including the Hells Angels and Asian gangs.
The
Oppal Commission on Policing studied the issue at length. Now
four years after his report was delivered, what's been done?
Nothing.
So,
really, what is left to study?
The
Tsang episode must surely underline how ineffective the current
structure has been in its task.
When
asked to describe what CLEU has actually accomplished in the
last five years, not a single, successful investigation, arrest
and prosecution could be cited.
One
CLEU officer, in a confidential discussion with me, said,
"You can go back 10 years and the answer's still the
same."
This
speaks volumes about the leadership of CLEU, in particular the
leadership, or lack thereof, of the director, Peter Engstad, who
was appointed to the position in 1987.
We
are losing the battle against organized crime. CLEU is in
disarray under ineffective leadership. The NDP won't spend the
money needed to adequately fund the fight.
Those
are the answers. We don't need a "blue ribbon panel"
to figure that out.
What
we need is a commitment from the AG that he will actually
undertake to take up the fight and commit the requisite
resources.
Oh,
and put someone in charge of CLEU who actually knows what he's
doing.
Anything else is simple window dressing to make the public think he is doing something.
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