‘Top offender list’ to help RCMP allocate resources in fight against drug crime in the NWT

“I don’t want anybody to get hurt standing up for their community, and I don’t want anybody to cross the line where they’ve done something that does break the law.”

– RCMP Supt. Chris Romanchych

The RCMP are compiling for the first time a top offender list for the Northwest Territories to help in allocating resources, a senior officer told a conference on combatting drug crimes.

“We are (creating a) list that has a harm score attached that allows us to determine where we need to focus efforts to have the most significant gains for safety in our communities,” said Supt. Chris Romanchych, criminal operations officer for ‘G’ Division.

Other important measures that need to be implemented soon include a civil forfeiture procedure and to start screening passengers taking regional commercial flights into NWT communities, he said.

And as for pre-trial release: “We have challenges relative to bail, where we take somebody into custody and they’re either released right away, without appropriate conditions or without a plan.”

As for those convicted traffickers: “When they’ve been processed through the court system and they’ve been found guilty and a sentence occurs, it needs to be … reflective of the harm that’s been caused to the community … so that there is some form of deterrent and lack of recidivism in within your communities.”

There has been a 54-per-cent jump in drug calls from 2023 to 2024 — well over 1,000 calls for service regarding drugs alone in the territory.

The GNWT has expanded policing resources — including a new Territorial Crime Reduction Unit — and the first full-time Emergency Response Team in the NWT. Promised civil forfeiture legislation and Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) legislation will take some time, with public engagement to occur this year.

As the dozens of officials and dozens more in the audience, work to find ways to keep drugs out, NWT Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Kami Kandola issued a public health advisory after a rare benzodiazepine derivative originally developed in the former Soviet Union mixed with fentanyl.

It was seized in the Sahtu region in March during a welfare check on a vehicle between Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope. That drug combination could make life-saving naloxone less effective, stated the advisory.

Speaking on the second day of the Dene Leadership Meeting on Community Crime Prevention in Yellowknife ’s Chateau Nova Hotel on Wednesday, Romanchych also cautioned those in attendance to avoid vigilante actions that could get them in serious trouble.

“I do ask that communities engage with law enforcement, that they raise concerns within their community appropriately and timely,” he said.

“I would also ask concurrently that communities don’t become vigilantes and try to strong arm a dangerous group, leave that to the police. I don’t want anybody to get hurt standing up for their community, and I don’t want anybody to cross the line where they’ve done something that does break the law.

“The traffickers, those who are bringing drugs and alcohol within our communities, they don’t care about the rules, they don’t care about your safety. So you do have to look after one another. We will be there to stand beside you.”

Romanchych spoke just after the Dene leaders passed a motion creating a task force to fight the southern organized crime outfits that generally send their newest members to the North, resulting in shootings, arsons, drug seizures and death in communities across the NWT.

When it comes to changing the lax security found on smaller flight routes, Ottawa is in a holding pattern.

“We have challenges … at the small airports that don’t have the security protocols in place,” said Romanchych.

“We have reached out, collaboratively with justice, to the Airport Authority, we have initiated conversations, I would say, candidly, that there is much more work to be done relative to that, including further engagement with Transport Canada to address some of these gaps in security.”

The morning’s discussions surrounded a motion made by Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian and seconded by Acho Dene Koe First Nation Chief Eugene Hope — that eventually passed unanimously — on forming a Dene Nation  task force to combat drug violence in communities.

While information on potential operational guidelines and a budget for the task force will take some time to develop, Phil Moon Sun, CEO of the Dene Nation, provided some information, derived from conversations on the first day of the conference:

• Discussions surrounded the task force’s composition, priorities, and actions.
• Those actions could include airport searches, and banishment.
• The discussion emphasized the need for regional representation, youth involvement, and a balanced approach.
• Also stressed frequently was to develop better educational programs for young people.

The urgency for immediate action was underscored by personal stories of community tragedies, stressing the importance of addressing both the problem and providing solutions.

The conference wraps up tomorrow.