Ex-cop says city problems are crime, not homelessness

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on August 12, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Follow the money – that’s the advice of a retired police officer to people wondering about the root of problems in Lethbridge.
The retired police officer, who has seen the dark side of life on the beat in a major Canadian city, will be known as “Radar” in this story due to personal concerns about being publicly named.
This officer witnessed first-hand for many years the impacts of addictions and prostitution after spending decades on the beat covering various assignments.
Radar knows evil lurks on city streets, in parks and even in homes of people who seem like average middle-class families.
Some, Radar says, are attracted to the dark side and nothing will ever change them, regardless of their social status. Some just want that rush.
The retired officer, who now lives in Lethbridge, takes umbrage with the reported numbers of homeless who are considered to be living on the street here. Increased numbers, the retired officer said, mean more funding for social service organizations working with individuals on the street.
“This isn’t a homeless problem, it’s a crime problem. Let’s quit calling it a homeless problem,” says Radar.
“Let’s find out what percentage is of really true homeless people.”
How many in Lethbridge are homeless because of circumstances beyond their control and how many through their own actions and choices? That, the retired officer suggests, should be considered when throwing around numbers.
Addicts, says Radar, won’t change until they don’t have drugs. That is the only way they will quit, the former cop believes.
“Those people are not going to change until they don’t have the drugs.”
To Radar, the definition of homeless is a different one that is commonly bandied about in today’s society. To this person, homelessness is a temporary situation.
“Homeless is a stereotype. It doesn’t represent a person, it’s a political term for funding,” said Radar.
“But there’s homelessness which is temporary – the husband gets kicked out or they move here and didn’t have quite enough funds, they just need temporary housing. This is the true meaning of homelessness.
“But we need the numbers for funding because what’s the big deal right now? All the political activists are talking about homelessness. It’s funding.”
In this former officer’s experience, addicts aren’t houseable. They need treatment.
“Who’s going to give these people a house? Where are you going to put them? They would defecate and vomit and it would be contaminated. They don’t understand housing, they don’t have the capability to pay for housing, they don’t have the capability to live in a house. They chose to be drug addicts and they’re going to be drug addicts ’til they die. The only thing that’s going to work for them is a treatment centre.”
The problems in Lethbridge, said Radar, are criminal in nature – crime due to drug dealers feeding junk to the addicts who need to steal or resort to prostitution to pay for their habits.
That has collateral damage to businesses and residents who must endlessly endure car prowlings, break-ins and thefts, all so the addicts can pay their dealers who mete out death and misery on city streets and in local parks before heading home to where ever they live. And Radar says the dealers do indeed have homes.
“Crimes and drug dealers go hand-in-hand,” the retired officer says.
While working in a major city, Radar said police never went after the prostitutes who fed their habits by selling sex to predators – a name the former officer says that more accurately describes the men seeking their services than the euphemism “johns”. Instead police focused on the dealers.
“We went after the drug dealers, we didn’t even go after the pimps. We went after the drug dealers because if she can’t get her drugs, she can then start thinking. And then what we did for her was give her every support we could. But we had to get her dry first. They will not quit selling themselves because they sell themselves to get the drugs.”
“This isn’t a homeless problem. We use the soft language…if we really want to talk about the hardcore of life, let’s talk about the hardcore of life and call it what it is. And that’s how we battled the prostitute problem. We quit using the soft terms – they weren’t ladies of the night, they were sex trade workers. The johns were sex buyers. And then there’s the pimps and the drug dealers and it all stems to drug dealing. It’s all about drugs. And we just don’t seem to grasp that,” said Radar.
“There’s no accountability. Let’s quit using the soft words, these aren’t homeless, they’re drug addicts living on the street,” says Radar.
“This is the dark side of crime. Prostitution is the dark side of crime, drug addicts are the dark side. Let’s not pretend like we have the activists saying ‘everybody deserves a home.’ These people don’t want a home, they are addicted to the dark side.”
And the least likely people can be profiting from the drug trade, Radar said.
“Who is getting money? We had doctors getting money including a doctor who became the court expert on the psychology of young girls in prostitution. They’d be sent to him for counselling.” And police discovered he was giving them cocaine in return for sex.
“Everybody benefits. Not everybody is a bad character but don’t be fooled just because he’s the expert. We arrested him and charged him and disgraced him but it took us three years to prove it.
“Always look for who’s gaining and what is it that they’re gaining,” says Radar.
Political activists, says Radar, want to feel good about themselves – they need to feel good about themselves – by trying to help addicts whether it’s with food, clothing or drug supplies.
“If you don’t give them something, you’re getting a knife in the ribs. Do you not think these criminals, the drug dealers, do you think for one minute they’re not going to take their free hot dog and potato chips and pop and tent? These people are criminals, they have a criminal mind.”
Radar bluntly says claims of being traumatized as a reason for addiction “are crap.” The ex-officer dealt with habitual offenders who became offenders because of their drug use.
“They had jobs, they had families, there was no trauma in their life – they just chose to use drugs. It’s a choice and they need to be held accountable. They don’t need a hot dog and a potato chips. We do that as a society to make ourselves feel good,” said Radar.
“I love how the political aspect of this influences everything in this city by such a small group,” says Radar.
“Always follow the money.”
Crime and addiction have collateral damage including bio-hazards in the needles and other materials left scattered around communities, feces, vomit and blood left in parks and public washrooms, on benches and elsewhere. There is damage to property and the cost of repairs plus the costs to citizens to protect their property, says Radar.
Collateral issues also include acts of random violence, unreported sexual assaults and of course, bicycle thefts.
And there is also the emotional toll taken on police and EMS who have to deal every day with the dark side of life in the city.
The problem is becoming so huge people don’t believe it can be fixed, said Radar.
“Four hundred people are holding this city hostage – and it’s not even 400.”

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