Charges against a woman who allegedly tossed drugs over the fence into Prince Albert Provincial Correctional Centre for a street gang were dropped.
Tara Anita Bird, 30, was charged with conspiracy to traffic controlled substances for the benefit of, or at the direction of the Terror Squad. The Federal Crown out of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada in Saskatoon stayed the charges on Sept. 16.
Kirsten Janis, the Federal Crown Prosecutor in Saskatoon, said the Criminal Code of Canada allows a one year period to re-activate the charges.
According to RCMP, the Saskatchewan RCMP Crime Reduction Team was investigating the trafficking of controlled substances into the Prince Albert Provincial Correctional Centre since May 2020. Police said Bird wasn’t an employee nor was she a prisoner at the provincial correctional facility.
Saskatchewan RCMP has two permanent Crime Reduction Teams (CRTs) in the province – Prince Albert and North Battleford. Each team has seven RCMP members (one sergeant, one corporal, and five constables), as well as one analyst and administrative position. Also, as part of the provincial Gang Violence Strategy, provincially funded police resources in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Alberta have been reorganized into CRTs.
The CRTs perform proactive and reactive policing. Their main goal is to conduct targeted enforcement, or “hot spotting,” based on crime trend analysis, intelligence and consultations with community leaders. These units focus enforcement efforts on provincial and municipal policing priorities, including gang violence, gun crime and the sale of dangerous drugs such as crystal meth and fentanyl.
