While he didn't have any hard statistics, informants tell police that crack, a highly addictive drug, is easily obtained from a variety of dealers in the city.
"And knowing by the amount of boosting, or shoplifting, we know there's a lot of people addicted in the city," Wilcox said.
He was responding to comments made by the executive director of AIDS Saint John last week. Julie Dingwell said her organization is giving out about twice as many safe crack kits as it did two years ago.
"It's a devastating habit," Wilcox said. "If they have it, they'll keep smoking rock after rock after rock," to keep the high going.
Users will often boost - or commit any crime necessary - to support the addiction, he said.
"So if they can go out and shoplift and do breaks and gather enough money, they'll use all of that money to do a continuous high, or a binge high."
Last year, 48 street-level dealers were charged in the undercover operation known as Operation Portland. Up to 80 per cent of those charged were mainly crack dealers, Wilcox said.
Now, some of them are starting to get out of jail.
From past experience, Wilcox said once a dealer is out of jail for trafficking, a lot of them go back to that activity.
Another reason for the increase in crack might also be the methadone clinic at St. Joseph's Community Health Centre, which offers treatment for people addicted to the popular opiate-based drugs such as Dilaudid and OxyContin, he said.
"It's like any other job. The dealers work on expanding their clientele," Wilcox said. "If their product of opiates is not doing as well, they'll spend a lot more time dealing with crack."
Another sure-fire way to expand is to target youth.
"They don't know any better," he said. "They get conned or persuaded to try it, and once they get into it, they're basically a client for life."
The increasingly younger crowd of crack addicts is an alarming trend for counsellors at Ridgewood Addiction Services.
"It's disturbing to us," said Cynthia Boyd, the manager of addiction services for the Horizon Health Network.
Most users who attend the 20-bed detox program are anywhere from 18 to 45, she said. But more and more are in their teens and early 20s.
Months ago, about a quarter of the detox patients would state crack as their drug of choice. Now, it's more like a third, she said. The most popular drug is alcohol.
The increase in crack has been gradual, over the last three or four years, she said.
"It's a highly addictive drug. People have become very sick on it. Their life has become unmanageable," Boyd said.
Addicts - used to the euphoric, revved up crack high - are plagued by cravings, a hyper-need to sleep and then a feeling of being "hyper-awake," she said. "They'll describe some pretty awful nightmares. So it's unpleasant; it's scary."
The detox program - which doesn't have a wait list at the moment - helps the addict pinpoint the people, places and things that trigger the cravings.
And relapses are a normal part of the cycle, she said.
But that's just for those who seek help.
Unless there's an intervention, Wilcox said a crack addict can be hooked for life, often mixing with opiate drugs, which provide a more relaxing high but when mixed increases the risk of heart attacks.
So police continue to try and nab dealers, but a project such as Operation Portland costs nearly half a million dollars and a lot of time.
"It's a Catch-22 for the community," he said. "If you don't spend the money on it to get them, what happens is the market is flooded with the drugs and the addicted people are stealing to support their habits.
"And the vicious circle goes on."
