CRIMESTOPPERS.NS.CA 25 The illegal tobacco trade is a serious threat to the health and safety of Canadians. It is dominated by criminal organizations, which are motivated by the potential of large profits which in turn fund other criminal activities. In the case of many large seizures of illegal tobacco, drugs and weapons have also been seized. Due to its low selling price, illegal tobacco has the potential to increase smoking rates which in turn results in an increase in health care costs for which all citizens pay the price. The illegal tobacco trade varies greatly across the country. Central Canada is the primary source of illegal tobacco products found throughout the rest of the country. The illegal tobacco market in the Atlantic region is almost entirely supplied by criminal networks sourcing their supply from Ontario, Quebec and New York State. The current environment of manufacturing, distributing and selling contraband tobacco products is different from what it was in the early 90’s when it was based primarily on the diversion of legally manufactured products. Today, it’s driven largely by illegal manufacturing, although it also features, to a lesser degree, the illegal importation of counterfeit cigarettes which arrive in Canada via marine containers. Several factors contribute to Canada’s illegal tobacco market, including smokers’ motivation to find cheap product, low public recognition and appreciation for the consequences of illegal tobacco, ease of access to illegal tobacco products especially by our youth, and the illegal manufacturing and sale of tobacco products. The illegal tobacco trade deprives all citizens of money that could be used for things like health care and education. Persons who are caught possessing or distributing illegal tobacco can face fines, penalties and even jail time. Crime Stoppers recognizes the seriousness of this issue and its effects on our communities and will continue to work with law enforcement agencies and partners to combat the illegal tobacco trade in Nova Scotia. Modeled along the same lines as the original Crime Stoppers Program is the Crime Stoppers Program for this province’s high schools. Research has shown us that high school is much the same as any other community in the province. School administration and students face many similar issues that are crime related. Minor thefts, vandalism, mischief, such as bomb-scares and setting off fire alarms, drug dealing, liquor offences and bullying. Some schools are so large that they even have their own dedicated police officer at the school for immediate response or assistance. So where does Crime Stoppers fit with school crime? The answer is simple. We offer the same guarantees as our regular program, in that all callers are offered complete anonymity and cash awards. We do not tape or trace calls. We do not subscribe to any form of call identification. The only difference is that our award schedule for high school crime is from $25 – $200 and quite often the school administration will deal with some of these matters internally through suspension, detention or compensation for damages. Crime Stoppers still consider these solved crimes and the callers will qualify for the cash awards. We’ve been doing high school presentations since 1993, and have seen many successes with this unique approach to solving crime. For example, we’ve solved such crimes as theft, drug dealing, and false alarms. We’ve even identified a student who called in a bombscare moments before a high-ranking politician was to visit the school. There is another benefit to having a Crime Stoppers Program in our high schools. Quite often, catching young people getting involved in crime can be the ‘wake up’ call they need. And remember, at Crime Stoppers, we want real information about real crime. Like any other crime reported to Crime Stoppers, the information has to be corroborated through other sources, such as the school administration confirming that they did, in fact, have a report of a stolen article, alarm, etc. TDIPPM!PROGRAMS DPOUSBCBOE!CIGARETTES Background photo created by Dragana_Gordic - www.freepik.com
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