COPS AIR VIDEO TO HELP CURB GROW-OPS

Police hope a new video will help educate landlords and the community
about what they can do in the battle against marijuana grow-ops.

The Counting the Cost video outlines how neighbours can spot a
grow-op and how landlords can prevent their rental properties from
being used in the illegal enterprise.

Tell-tale signs include blinds that are always closed, condensation
inside windows, late-night traffic to and from the home, children's
toys in the yard that never move and the smell of marijuana.

It's believed there are at least 5,000 and as many as 20,000 grow-ops
under way at any given time in B.C., with about 50 per cent of them
in the Lower Mainland.

Vancouver police Insp. Kash Heed said the average grow-op of 300 to
350 plants is worth about $230,000.

The video also suggests lax penalties in the justice system are doing
little to dissuade growers. For every 100 busts, 22 are prosecuted,
21 are convicted and just 11/2 are sentenced to jail, it says.