Joint forces see trend
Driving impaired by drugs, alcohol remains an issue in Prince County
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – It’s been 30 years since the Prince District RCMP combined resources with Kensington and Summerside police services for the Joint Forces Operation, focusing on taking drugs off the street.
While drugs and impaired driving remain an issue, Summerside Deputy Chief Jason Blacquiere said the JFO has made significant strides.
Drug-related investigations are a specialized area requiring specific expertise, said Blacquiere, leading to the JFO’S formation.
“It just made sense for all the agencies because our criminals, including our drug traffickers, are transient,” said Blacquiere. “They don’t stick to any one jurisdiction, so it made sense for us to combine resources and put a focus on that.”
When it comes to drugs, Blacquiere said it’s not uncommon for the JFO to overlap with the Provincial Priority Unit, which focuses on traffic enforcement.
“That’s not unusual at all, for somebody who’s impaired by drug driving to have possession of sometimes significant quantities of drugs,” said Blacquiere. “So there is that overlap between the units.”
EVOLVING SCENE
Since Blacquiere began policing 25 years ago, he has noticed trends and evolution in the drug scene.
Back then, Blacquiere said, marijuana and hash were common drugs to find in the street, with cocaine emerging in popularity. Today’s drugs of choice, though, are crystal meth, fentanyl and opioids.
The legalization of marijuana also led to impaired driving legislation changes, giving police new authority and technology to assist in catching impaired drivers in P.E.I.
These trends, said Blacquiere, are reflected in people caught driving under the influence, with drug-impaired driving increasing over the years.
“Where it almost used to be strictly impaired by alcohol, with advanced training and technology, we’re now able to better detect drug–impaired drivers,” said Blacquiere. “And we’re seeing that in the numbers. … It’s not just alcohol anymore, there’s an increasing prevalence of impaired by drugs.”
Blacquiere added that consuming alcohol was once a weekend affair; now, drunk drivers are active 24-7.
“I don’t know if impaired by alcohol is going down,” said Blacquiere. “But certainly, impaired by drug is going up. We’re better able to detect those drivers, versus years ago.”
IMPAIRED DRIVING
Const. Jamie Parsons has been involved with the provincial traffic services unit since it formed almost four years ago. The team, which is active across the province, was formed to help combat driving infractions. For the last two years, the unit has focused on targeting impaired driving.
“I’m one of the ones that posts stuff on social media, and I take the time to go in and review all the posts on there, read the comments and stuff,” said Parsons.
“That’s, a lot of times, how we decide where we’re gonna go for the day, if we started seeing comments of, say, ‘up in O’leary, there’s a lot of speeding, you guys should come up here,’ then we’ll probably be there within the next week or so.”
Although members of the traffic services unit spend much time in Queens County, they do patrol in western P.E.I. a few times a month.
Since the federal government legalized marijuana in the fall of 2018, Parsons said they have seen an increase in people under the influence of cannabis in vehicles.
After the legalization, members of the RCMP have undergone training in order to seek out cannabis-impaired drivers, including field sobriety testing training, drug recognition expert training and learning to use the roadside screening device, Sotoxa.
“I’ve had very much success with that instrument,” said Parsons. “In the last two years, using that device alone, I’ve arrested over 90 people using cannabis.”
WHAT CAN BE DONE
Across Prince County, P.E.I., and Canada, Blacquiere said police departments are always working to educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving.
“The regulations of the highway traffic act have stiffened quite a bit,” said Blacquiere.
“We have some of the most severe penalties in Canada for impaired, and it doesn’t really seem to resolve the issue for us.”
Blacquiere encouraged people to call 911 if they suspect an impaired driver. Look for someone driving unusually, such as way under or over the speed limit or swerving out of their lane.
Drugs and impaired driving, said Blacquiere, have a negative impact on the community, and the JFO is important to keep drugs off the street.
“They’ve managed over the years to disrupt a lot of drug traffickers and drug trafficking groups,” he said.
“They’ve seized significant amounts of all types of illicit drugs.”