Critique: Criminologist argues that stings such as Operation Portland will have little lasting effect on the supply of street drugs

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JEFF DUCHARME
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

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SAINT JOHN - Called Operation Portland, the six-month drug sting has had an impact on the city's hard-core drug trade in crack cocaine, Dilaudid and OxyContin. But how long the streets remain quiet after such an operation is always the big question.

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Professor Irvin Waller says Canadian lawmakers could learn from the United States’ big battle against illicit drugs.

Irvin Waller is an Ottawa University professor and author of Less Law, More Order: Truth about Reducing Crime. The book takes a look at where America has gone wrong in its battle against drugs. He believes Canadian lawmakers and enforcers could also learn from the experiences south of the border.

Police say 48 mid- and street-level drug dealers were arrested in Operation Portland, with 13 of them receiving prison sentences so far. Waller agrees that the sting will reduce the illicit trade on Saint John's streets, but he argues the drugs will eventually come back.

"It's very clear that the huge investments in suppression in the United States has had very little impact on the demand and therefore the use of illicit drugs," said Waller, who teaches criminology and is director of the Institute for Prevention of Crime in Ottawa.

"It probably does provide a short-term lack of crack cocaine, but you're going to see it come back quite soon," Waller said.

In any police operation, Waller says six months is a good rule-of-thumb to predict when the criminal activity will return to previous levels.

"In this particular case, it may be quicker, it may be longer. The sustained impact is going to be close to zero."

An anti-drug strategy limited to suppression and enforcement is a no-win strategy, Waller said. Police and politicians must look at a three-pronged approach - education, treatment and enforcement.

In Saint John, Police Chief Bill Reid took on the province earlier this year to get a methadone clinic opened in the uptown. Reid won the battle.

"Most of the links between crime and drugs have to do with getting the money to buy the drugs," Waller said.

The cost of drug operations usually exceed the dollar amount of drugs recovered. In Operation Portland, police recovered $29,000 in drugs, $5,000 in cash and an estimated $5,000 in weapons. At a recent press conference, deputy Chief Darrell Scribner said the final figures weren't in, but the cost of the operation was in the six-figure range. "I'm not so worried about, 'Did they spend a $100,000 on this,' as 'Do we have the right balance between spending $100,000 on this particular operation and what we're spending on the treatment programs and the stuff on prevention'?" Waller said.

Police argue that when you have such large-scale busts, it disrupts the drug trade and smashes the network. But Waller says the streets remain dry until the dealers can repair the damage. It also drives up the price on the street because it affects the supply.

But it can also have a reverse effect, said Waller.

"If you reduce the supply then the price goes up and that creates a better market for people to move into, so people move into it."