Prince George RCMP Spt. Warren Brown says despite over 200 days of legalization in Canada, cannabis is still a major source of violent organized crime in the city.
“From an enforcement perspective, we are fooling ourselves if we believe cannabis is safe,” said Brown during a presentation on the RCMP’s 2019-2020 Annual Performance Plan, at a city council meeting (April 30).
“It wasn’t until too long ago, perhaps a month to five weeks ago, that we looked at an illicit cannabis trafficking operation, where total assets seized were over $2 million dollars, with military-style illegal shotguns, semi-automatic guns and $600,000 cash,” said Brown referring to this March 23 seizure by the RCMP’s Street Unit Crew at an undisclosed location in the city.
“There is a very violent, corrupt, and illegal network around cannabis,” said Brown. “We believe, I said it before and I will say it again, cannabis is the jet fuel for organized crime and we have reason to believe it still exists in our community.”
Brown says the RCMP face many challenges when it comes to responding to policing cannabis in the city.
“We are at the doorstep of how we are going to reconcile the legitimate legal aspect of cannabis with what we continue to see with the gang lifestyle in and around it,” said Brown.
In his overview of some, the RCMP’s priorities for the coming year include a focus on restorative justice with wraparound supports for individuals who don’t necessarily have the opportunity to go to court and a full-time position to staff the detachment’s prolific offender program.
Brown said while the RCMP is establishing more focused efforts to reduce crime, the detachment has limited resources.
“With addictions, comes a real serious problem in our community around drugs which drives gang violence and that hasn’t really changed much in our community,” said Brown, noting that it’s not uncommon for Prince George to see anywhere from four to six murders a year.
“The majority of those are in and around the drug trade, that doesn’t include the shootings, the abductions, or the kidnappings.”
Mayor Lyn Hall thanked Brown for his candour.
“There’s a broader piece here and slowly but surely I’m learning about the broader piece of police activity that’s taking place in our community,” said Hall.
“I appreciate your candour when you talk about drug seizures and it gives us a little insight into what your world is about beyond traffic, beyond the social issues, mental illness issues, and drug issues in our downtown core.”
