CORNWALL, Ontario – Local law enforcement have secured contact with as many as 1,000 local residents on the St. Lawrence River shoreline, who it is hoped can provide solid intelligence as police continue to battle smuggling.
This week Royal Canadian Mounted Police members with the Cornwall detachment joined with about 15 other law enforcement agencies and went directly to the people, knocking on the doors of about 2,000 homes to speak with residents about the smuggling problem in this region.
RCMP Const. Jean Juneau said contact was made with about 1,000 individuals and he added those new relationships are likely to pay dividends down the road.
“It’s important for us to meet with them and establish that rapport,” said Juneau. “We are more and more effective when we have that intelligence coming in.
“What we need to achieve with the community is to secure that border. We need to make sure and demonstrate to organized crime the community does not want this type of activity here or anywhere.”
The goal of this so-called “surge operation” was also to provide insight to residents on the importance of border security.
“Great collaborative effort has been made with all our local Canadian and U.S. law enforcement partners in planning for this initiative,” said Insp. Steve Ethier, officer in charge of the Cornwall Regional Task Force. “We work together daily in our law enforcement efforts in securing a safe Canada. These two days…assist us all in highlighting what we do on a daily basis on a more elevated scale.”
Juneau said while the smuggling problem has evolved over time, police have tried to adapt as well.
“It’s not like it used to be in the early 90s – not at all,” he said. “But at the same time it has not stopped. We don’t have the same quantities going, but it hasn’t stopped.
“We ae very diligent about patrolling up and down (the river). But if I am in the Lancaster area and something is happening in Glen Walter I have missed it. That’s why it is important for the public to be involved…the information they will give us will provide the investigators with useful (knowledge).”
Law enforcement partners plan to complete a similar surge again.
