CALGARY -- The past successes of a provincial policing group in fighting organized crime are a proof unified efforts can bring gangs to their knees, says a Calgary alderman.
Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart, who sits on the board of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT), said the co-ordinated policing model is the way of the future because it works so effectively.
"When we do work effectively, we take organized crimes to their knees, and we get these massive drug operations down," she said.
Colley-Urquhart is praising the collaborative work of police organizations across the province, whose main task is to combat organized crimes.
"This is the most admired policing model in all of Canada, there's no other model like ALERT to fight organized crime," she said.
The group seized and restrained properties to the tune of $5,592,260 and confiscated $832,136 in cash, said an annual report recently released.
Officers took massive amount of drugs off the street with a total estimated value of $104,249,569, which is $19.4 million more than the previous year.
Out of that total amount of drug seizure, about 80,000 were marijuana plants valued at $98,988,750, more than 128 kg of marijuana estimated at $1,921,250, and more than 30 kg of cocaine valued at $2,411,648.
They also seized 29,210 tablets of ecstasy valued at $292,095 and 7 kg of methamphetamine with a street value of $560,000.
Officers laid 3,040 charges against 853 people, which is a 45% increase over the previous year.
Colley-Urquhart said when police take down operations of organized crime it means human trafficking, smuggling and prostitution also take the hit.
"Drugs fuel the gangs and organized crime, and organized crime work in every city throughout the province and rural Alberta," she said.
"They don't care about municipal police lines and provincial lines. They work without borders and that's exactly how our police have to work."
About 60 Calgary cops are seconded to ALERT and they solely work on organized crimes throughout the province.
Colley-Urquhart said ALERT's fight against gangs and organized crime is just beginning and more sources should be put towards the program.
Brian Gibson, chairman of the ALERT board, said as the co-ordinated policing enters its fifth year it's facing more challenges.
"The face of criminal enterprises in Alberta continues to evolve and change and so too must our investigative techniques and expertise," said Gibson.
Five major policing units - Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Camrose - and all the RCMP detachments in Alberta and the Alberta Sheriffs work for ALERT.
