In an effort to increase the safety of the Prince George public, the Prince George RCMP once again invited the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia (CFSEU-BC) to work with detachment members in the city.
The CFSEU-BC is British Columbia’s integrated anti-gang police agency and is the largest integrated police program in Canada, made up of members from every police department in B.C. The Prince George RCMP worked specifically with the Uniformed Gang Enforcement Team (UGET) between January 13 and January 17 to combat drug violations, weapons trafficking and the associated violence stemming from the Prince George drug trade.
Using a three-tiered approach of prevention, intervention and suppression, the CFSEU-BC’s UGET assisted the Prince George RCMP’s Downtown Safety Unit, Street Crew and frontline members in gathering intelligence and other enforcement action. Throughout their time in Prince George, members of the UGET interacted with people known to be active in the Prince George drug trade and in many of the recent violent conflicts in our area. These enforcement efforts resulted in the following:
- A total of 25 files were generated for weapons, drug trafficking and driving offences;
- Various weapons such as knives, mace, replica guns, collapsible batons and property crime tools were removed from the streets;
- Seizure of illicit drugs such as suspected methamphetamine, suspected fentanyl and suspected cocaine;
- 28 arrests for a variety of offences
“The Prince George RCMP appreciates the time and effort put in by the members of the UGET to assist in combating the drug trade in our city,” said Cst. Jennifer Cooper, media liaison for the Prince George RCMP. “We want to send a clear message to those involved in violent conflict that we do not tolerate it in our city.”
Members of the public are also encouraged to do their part by reporting suspicious activity in their neighbourhood to their local police detachment. This helps police to better track where the activity is occurring and make informed action plans. The Prince George RCMP is committed to disrupting drug-trafficking activity and violence in the community and welcomes the opportunity to work with other units such as the UGET in a targeted approach to increasing public safety.