Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Jan 24/03) - Drug-related offences in Inuvik last year were almost twice as high as in 2001.

Federal drug charges soared up to 45 from 24 in the previous year, as indicated in the Inuvik RCMP's 2002 year- end summary.

"That's the one that caught my attention," said Staff Sgt. Mark Wharton.

He said he is dismayed that drug traffickers are taking advantage of people who now have more discretionary income than ever before.

Wharton said last year's undercover sting operation, which resulted in several arrests for cocaine trafficking, put a big dent in the illegal drug scene.

But he is still making drug enforcement one of his top priorities.

He said Inuvik's drug investigators are working with the Yellowknife and Whitehorse detachments to better co-ordinate intelligence and information about drug trafficking in the North.

"We are definitely a control point, just like Yellowknife and Whitehorse.

"We have it come in from those two spots to us, then from us it goes to everybody ‹ Paulatuk to Tuk, to everywhere," he said.

The 2002 report cites a detailed breakdown of Criminal Code, federal, territorial, municipal and traffic violations between 1996 and 2002.

In most categories the rates fluctuated slightly up and down, but there were some numbers that raised a few eyebrows.

In the 'criminal other' category, which accounts for Criminal Code offences not committed against individuals or property, there were 529 more offences reported in 2002 than in 2001.

But Wharton said that's no reason for panic.

What appears to be an outrageous increase can be attributed to the way statistics were recorded by the Inuvik RCMP detachment prior to 2002, he explained.

Prior to 2002, he said, police officers were recording complaints of intoxicated persons fighting on the streets or causing a scene by yelling and swearing as a 'drunk in public' offence, which is classified as a territorial liquor offence.

"But what it really is, is a criminal offence ‹ causing a disturbance.

"When I got here last year I started catching this," said Wharton.

Drunken disturbance complaints are most common in the summer, when it's warmer and there is an abundance of tourists in town.

That explanation also reflects a decline in the territorial liquor offense category, which dropped from 558 in 2001 to 302 last year.

The increase in the 'criminal other' category is also higher than previous years because individuals who violated bail orders were not being charged.

Now that has all changed.

"So the increase is kind of a combination of those two things," said Wharton.

In total, offences reported to the Inuvik RCMP rose from 3,034 in 2001 to 3,358 last year.

And that, Wharton said, is not surprising when you consider the growth of the population and economic activity in town.

"I don't think any of these numbers are out of line ... it's expected," he said.