Canada - Busting organized crime is the city's No. 1 priority heading into 2009 says Medicine Hat's top cop.
In an interview with the News, Medicine Hat Police Service Chief Andy McGrogan said the force will be working together with other law enforcement agencies outside the city as they work to rid Medicine Hat of gangs. "Our focus is the fight on organized crime. The drug trade in Medicine Hat creates problems with our economy with all types of other crimes involving theft and violence." The chief said the local force will be joining with other departments in the region to co-ordinate their efforts to take on crime syndicates. "It is a big change for the MHPS to basically work in an integrated unit that will to some degree work outside the jurisdiction of the city boundaries," said McGrogan. While he said crime connections from the larger Western Canadian cities like Calgary and Vancouver work their way to the Hat, smaller communities also play a part. "It's coming from all over but their is a huge tie to Brooks and the issues that go on there directly affect Medicine Hat." But the chief said the force has made inroads in tackling the problem in the past year after splitting their criminal investigations unit into two. One deals with major crimes and the other is dedicated to investigating gang activity. "We have a dedicated unit that has done a great job," he said. "But this integrated team, when it gets down here and fully-staffed, we believe is going to make a huge impact on the community." Part of the problem in tackling organized crime in this city and elsewhere is the changing face of gangs. "In years gone by it has been traditionally the Hells Angles, this or that group. Just like a lot of the economy, it is really mobile now and it seems like we are getting all the different groups," he said. But unlike the patch wearing outlaw motorcycle gangs which Hatters may associate with organized crime, many of today's criminals live and do their illicit business within the community, McGrogan said. He added that associated with organized crime and the drug trade are many of the other ills which plague the city such as domestic violence and property crime. Impaired driving is also an issue McGrogan said police are targeting as they continue to respond to citizen's concerns outlined in the 2008 police survey. "We have really been working hard against impaired drivers," he said. Busts of drunk drivers have gone up considerably from 200 in 2006 to over 300 in 2008. "It would be nice if the drunk drivers got the message and stopped. But it seems they haven't so we are going to keep hammering on them, arresting them and brining them in." Staffing changes for the relatively young force won't change much, according to the chief, after the 2008 hiring blitz which saw 18 new officers join MHPS. "We have hired 67 members since 2000," he said. "We are deep in training, it's a big issue for us. We have to train these officers up because when a lot of the retired guys walked out the door, we lost a lot of experience." However, the energy many of the new and often young officers bring to the MHPS is a benefit to the force, said McGrogan. "It's very rewarding to see the work ethic of our members, they put in a good day's work and do what they can." The strategic plan MHPS developed in 2008 will continue to act as a framework for the forces objectives in 2009, according to the chief. "We want to focus on training up our officers so when they go to a crime scene or a call for service they are as good as they can be. We have hired a massive amount of people so now we can concentrate on developing them so they can give the best service possible to the citizens."
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