PROVINCE TARGETS ORGANIZED CRIME

REGINA -- The Saskatchewan government committed money Tuesday for new
policing positions to combat organized crime, a move that comes one day
after it announced a missing persons task force.

The province will spend $745,000 to the end of this fiscal year, which ends
March 31, and $2 million in annual funding after that, for 14 positions in
Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert.

Two new prosecutors --- one in Saskatoon, one in Regina -- will also be
hired to deal with the rise in investigations and prosecutions expected to
follow.

Part of the funding will also go toward wiretaps, search warrants and other
intelligence-gathering operations.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Bob Bazin, director of Criminal Intelligence Service
Saskatchewan (CISS), a joint force of 21 police organizations in the
province, said the move is necessary with some 40 criminal organizations
operating in the province.

He warned gang members will have to start looking over their shoulders.

"We are going after them. I make that abundantly clear," he said. "We are
going after them and we will go after each and every crime group that works
in this province.

"It will expand our capabilities to dismantle and disrupt these gangs," he
said of the new money. "Can we eliminate all organized crime in this
province? I don't think that could ever be a reality, but it certainly
enables us to expand what we are already doing."

The new positions include nine RCMP investigators -- four in Saskatoon,
four in Regina and one in P.A. -- to work with municipal forces, a criminal
intel ligence analyst in each of the three cities, one new municipal
officer in P.A. and one commanding officer position which will alternate
between RCMP and municipal police.

Alyson Edwards, spokesperson for the Saskatoon Police Service, said this
new funding will enhance the department's working relationship with the RCMP.

"We certainly appreciate additional resources to battle what we see as
organized crime, which includes gang activity," said Edwards.

But she isn't aware how the city force will work with the four new
investigators to be based in Saskatoon.

"Those details haven't been worked out yet," she said. "Certainly we will
make the best use of them that we can, but our administration needs to work
out the details of that."

Saskatoon Police Service has one unit dedicated to organized crime and
another for street crimes. In 2004, Saskatoon police launched the street
crime unit, which looks at incidents or crimes committed regularly by
suspected local gangs such as the Indian Posse.

Edwards said Saskatoon police have recognized gangs are a concern in the city.

"The formation of our unit addresses that. It's been very effective in
dealing with that and it will continue to do so."

Through September and October, the street crime unit laid 53 criminal
charges -- including robbery, assault and drug charges -- and executed 35
warrants for arrest.

The strategy was born out of a pilot project undertaken by CISS in the
first half of this year. During the six-month pilot, 50 search warrants
were executed and 112 persons were charged with 361 offences. More than
$500,000 in drugs, cash and stolen property was also seized.

Supt. Hal Zorn, head of the criminal investigations division with the
Regina Police Service, said during the pilot, which centred in Regina and
surrounding area, police tried to "pick the low-hanging fruit to see if we
could flush out 'Mr. Big.'

"Overall (they) created an environment where people who were involved in
gang-related activities were very much concerned about being held
accountable," he said.

The new resources, he added, will allow the scope to broaden beyond Regina
and move across the province.

This strategy is the latest in a series of efforts by the province to
combat organized crime.

On Monday, the government proposed amendments to the Safer Communities and
Neighbourhoods Act that would address organized crime.

Also on Monday, the province announced $2 million for an eight-person
missing persons task force. Both commitments are in addition to funding for
29 new officers announced last week.

"This year, I believe we are seeing crime decrease -- it's a little early
to say, the year's not over yet. I believe that as a result of initiatives
like this we'll continue to see the reduction of crime across
Saskatchewan," said Justice Minister Frank Quennell.