Yellowknife (Mar 03/06) - Yellowknife citizens can now provide input about crime prevention and enforcement issues through a community liaison with the RCMP.

With the implementation of the 12-member Yellowknife Area Policing Advisory Committee, public recommendations now can be made about various aspects of community life as it relates to detection of crime.

Jennifer Marchant is chair of the committee and represents downtown businesses and merchants. "We have to ask ourselves why we have so much crime," Marchant said during a press conference announcing the formation of the committee. "Is this what we want to be known for?"

The committee will focus on three main areas: drugs in private, public, or the workplace; public intoxication; and underage drinking.

Any comments from the public will be presented by the committee, which meets monthly, to the RCMP.

RCMP Inspector Roch Fortin, an ex-officio member of the committee, applauded the city for having the fortitude and vision to embark on the project.

"It's a starting point and I think we are on the right track. Support is key to improvement and we support the committee," Fortin said.

Statistically, Fortin said he predicts the number of arrests in Yellowknife per year will decline as a result of committee work.

Before the committee was functioning last year, Fortin said there were 736 fewer people in custody, thanks to support from services such as the Salvation Army and Social Services.

Steve Meister, vice-chair and representative of Chamber of Commerce businesses, said there was an immediate response from the business community that it wanted to get involved with the committee.

"Crime costs every individual and the costs are passed back to customers," Meister said. "We do not want to see this drug trend continuing."

The committee hopes to establish drug-free zones in the city, a project said to have been successful in areas of British Columbia.

Thus far, the committee has helped reactivate downtown foot patrols, and has had a community request for close-by policing in the communities of Dettah and Ndilo.

The committee is also helping to prepare the first Community Impact Statement in relation to Operation Gunship - an Oct. 13, 2005, drug bust which saw seven kilograms of cocaine and two kilograms of marijuana seized in several locations across the city.