The faces and places of Prince George are becoming familiar to B.C's gang-buster police team.
The members of B.C.'s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CSFEU) arrived Wednesday, June 29 and stayed until Sunday, July 3 in their third operation here in less than two years.
This Surrey-based team is an elite group pooled from law enforcement agencies of all descriptions. They have various departments but the branch they deployed in Prince George was the Anti-Gang Task Force (AGTF), the ones in uniform who engage gang activity directly.
"For those [gang-involved] individuals to see us co-operating and acting alongside the police units of the north was very beneficial for us. It is getting now so there is actually a rapport building between us and them, there is a level of understanding about what each other's business is," said Sgt. Shinder Kirk, spokesman for CFSEU.
"One of the first places the [AGTF] went was the [Renegades Motorcycle Club] clubhouse, just to let them know they were in town," said Prince George RCMP spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass. "We did identify a bunch of associates to outlaw motorcycle gangs so we wanted to have that conversation with them."
The clubhouse occupants videotaped the encounter, the police visitors accepted that as their right. No confrontations ensued.
"We make no secret of what we are all about. Our task is to be right up front with organized crime," said Sgt. Mark Jordan, one of the AGTF team leaders.
"We are professional, but firm in carrying out our duty to protect the public. I have no issue with knocking on someone's door at two o'clock in the morning to make sure they are abiding by their court-ordered conditions. We will engage with anyone we feel is posing a risk to the public, and we will not tolerate aggression or disrespect towards our members."
The AGTF scrutinized social gatherings, visited homes, raided hotel rooms, inspected vehicles and anything they could to intercept drugs, weapons, suspects with arrest warrants, or learn new information about unlawful activities.
"They were invited here, but we have no control over what they do," said Douglass. "We have our members accompany them at times, and they have members of the CFSEU's northern branch along to guide them, but they are their own police entity."
"Our jurisdiction is the province of B.C. It solves jurisdictional problems," said Jordan. "I'm getting comments around here now like 'oh, you're back again, eh?' or 'oh yeah, I've heard of you guys' from the people in Prince George we make contact with."
Jordan added that much of the organized crime in B.C. ripples from the Vancouver area so everywhere they go, the players are often the same. Police departments are networking the same way via the CFSEU.
"The way it really gets easier," said Jordan, "is I know I have friends here now. If, say, Craig or Raj [Sidhu, a leader of CFSEU-north] needs something done down in Surrey or Mission or Abbotsford, all they have to do is dial my number. They are learning from us, we are learning from them, and the partnerships are just building."
"This is routine, now," said Douglass. "I think Mark and his team will be back, and we made it clear that they are welcome any time."
Kirk agreed that each time a joint operation is done "it helps set up the next opportunity. In Prince George, we have now developed a base of knowledge on the community."
The date of the next AGTF drop-in was not disclosed nor would it be, said the partners involved, until they are knocking on doors and pulling over vehicles to personally say hello to the city's gangsters and their associates.
