Court Street 9 p.m.

An early evening drug bust on Court Street throws the PSU officers into action early. The van ? driven by Det. Con. Michael Donawa ? tears along the streets arriving at a back parking lot off Court Street. A youth who appears to be in his early 20s is spotted loitering around suspiciously. He runs as soon as the armoured van arrives and the siren starts wailing. He jumps through a patch in the bushes, into a yard filled with pitbulls and breaks into a run jumping off the roof of a two storey-house in an effort to shake the two dozen officers on his trail. A pitbull chained to a post barks frantically, adding to the excitement of the chase.

Another branch of the PSU has been alerted and is already positioned to catch him as he makes a dash into Swinging Doors. A handful of Police officers rush into the club in full gear including helmets and vests and escort the youth out, putting him into the back of another van. He is limping and has obviously injured his foot in the jump off the roof.

Det. Sgt. Maxwell said the youth was arrested on suspicion of possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply. He is taken to the Hamilton Police station.

Children and adults loiter around watching the action but the crowd is relatively quiet. Most people in the neighbourhood seem to expect a heavy Police presence.

Middle Town 9.45 p.m.

What appears to be a four-year-old child with several other children under the age of ten wander along the main street unsupervised. According to the officers this is nothing unusual, although the Police Service did ask parents to keep a close eye on their children?s activities. The officers keep a close eye on this areas since a a bunch of thugs recently threw Molotov cocktails at the Police from a location above the main road. The only event in the area to keep an eye on is a house party which appears to be relatively quiet.

Church Street 10.15 p.m.

A coffee break at Esso 24 Hour Gas Station gives the officers the chance to relax.

There are several women Police Officers out with the Police Support Unit tonight, including P.c. Chanika Darrell who told The Royal Gazette this was her second Halloween patrolling with the PSU. Last year she was fire bombed at St. Monica?s Road, but in comparison, P.C. Darrell said this year appears to be off to a good start.

One of the few women in PSU, P.c. Darrell said she loves the excitement of the job and the spur of the moment activity it involves.

?Your adrenaline gets pumping, there is an element of surprise ? with this job I can?t just wake up and say I?m going to work. I?ve really got to love what I am doing, and I do.?

P.c. Darrell trains regularly in cardiovascular fitness and weight training to keep up with the force and carry a ten-pound armoured vest outfitted with a baton, hand-cuff, torch and asp in addition to a riot proof helmet.

Ord Road, Warwick 10.45 p.m.

Some male youths outside the Laundromat are stopped by Police officers and quickly patted down. Nothing suspicious appears to be happening in the area. At one point the van approaches a group of young people gathered at one of the main hang out spots and prepares to jump out of the van for a quick search, only to discover the group is made up of young women who appear to be between 15-18 years old are talking among themselves. Male officers are not permitted to search women but in most cases Det. Sgt. Maxwell said the Police will recommend to their parents to set a curfew and make sure they know where their daughters are later at night.

Cedar Hill, Warwick 11.15 p.m.

The van pulls up outside the group of youths who are loitering at the top of the hill. One man in his early 20s appears to have an awful lot of cash in his pockets.

An older woman who is with the young man starts shouting loudly at the officers warning them not to search her nephew or she would have to take action.

?You took his pants down, you took his pants down, you can?t search him,? she tells the Police. ?He knows his rights.?

She has accused Det. Sgt. Maxwell of pulling the man?s pants down, but eye witnesses see that he has voluntarily dropped his drawers. ?Do you want me to drop my pants too??

?Get her out of here,? Sergeant Maxwell tells his patrol.

An older woman comes out from a nearby house and takes the woman inside.

In total the youth is discovered to have $6,500 in cash in $100 bills and a few twenties but nothing else in his pockets.

Mary Victoria Road, Devonshire 12 a.m.

An elderly lady has had a rock thrown into the sliding glass door of her home. The PSU van arrives quickly with Det. Con. Bento taking the complainant?s details and making sure her home is secured. Although the PSU is trained for riot response, community policing is just as important.

@EDITRULE:

The officers drive to the flagpole on Front St. where they join several other Police vans and other officers who are on duty. The armoured vans and line of officers on the sidewalk discourage any fighting after a party at Pier Six breaks up just before 1 a.m.

Police kept a similar presence Island-wide last night. Anyone who was arrested over the weekend was expected to remain in custody until the next available court session.