MASS ARRESTS WON'T SOLVE GANG PROBLEM

Re: War on gangs is 'working,' Letter April 4

Police chief William Blair is right that this and other mass arrest
operations are helpful. But they cannot have any permanent effect on
drug trafficking as other gangs and criminals quickly fill any void
and those charged frequently are out on the street before you can blink.

It is also commendable that Toronto police since 2004 have been
charging many of those arrested with being members of an organized
crime entity. But often those charges, which should result in a much
longer prison sentence, are dropped in plea bargains over the years it
takes to comekto trial.

So the mass arrests strategy becomes a game the police play with
street gangs - get too organized and we will arrest you and cause you
legal problems for years.

As someone who has studied and written about organized crime for well
over three decades, I would say the only real way to lessen the grip
of street gangs and organized crime is to take away the oxygen that
keeps them alive and growing - the drug trade. Sooner or later drug
prohibition has to end in North America. When that happens, organized
crime will take a blow that will be very hard to recover from.

And governments will make some serious money that they can put into
preventative measures and education about the dangers of drug use.
Until then, the police and the criminals will continue to play their
games and organized crime will continue to flourish in our society.

James Dubro, Toronto