SCAN OFFICE TO ACCEPT COMPLAINTS SOON

The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) office will opening
Wednesday and begin to take complaints from Yukoners.

"Together, we can put a stop to these threats," Justice Minister
Marion Horne told a news conference this morning in Whitehorse.

"We are pleased to respond to the needs of citizens with legislation
that empowers them to take back the safety of their neighbourhoods."

The legislation that created the office passed through the house last spring.

It targets properties being used for producing, growing, selling or
using illegal drugs, prostitution, solvent abuse and the unlawful
sale or consumption of alcohol.

It is meant to provide a flexible and responsive approach to dealing
with substance abuse in the territory and mirrors similar laws in
Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

"SCAN gives citizens the means to improve the safety in their own
community," said Horne.

As of Wednesday, Yukon residents will be able to call a confidential
complaint line, at 456-7726, to report their concerns to an
investigative team that exists within the Department of Justice and
operates separately from the RCMP.

The legislation focuses on using civil law rather than criminal law
to end the targeted activities.

The use of civil law enables the investigative team to collect
information that indicates a balance of probabilities that unlawful
activities which adversely affect the safety and security of a
neighbourhood are occurring on a regular basis.

In criminal law, the police would have to go to court against a
specific person charged with a specific offence and prove the
activities are occurring beyond a reasonable doubt.

Two investigators and a registrar have been hired to work in SCAN's
Whitehorse-based office.

Neither their names nor the location of the office is being released
to protect the integrity of the pending investigations, SCAN and the
staff, said Lesley Carberry, the director of community protection and policing.

It is expected that the investigators will be able to conduct their
surveillance in such a way that it will be determined very quickly if
there is a habitual activity occurring on the premise, said Carberry.
A survey of a complaint will likely last about a week.

SCAN focuses on finding informal solutions to activities having an
adverse impact on communities, said Dennis Cooley, deputy minister of
the Department of Justice.

The investigative team will work with the landlord to find a solution
to ceasing the activities, he said, which does not necessarily mean
the residents will be evicted.

"It can include an agreement to stop the activities," said Carberry,
adding that the spectrum of resolutions will range from the informal
to the formal.

If SCAN officers are unable to work cooperatively with the landlords
or tenants to stop the illegal activities, applying to the Yukon
Supreme Court for a community safety order is also an option - and
would result in closing down the house.

"We want to emphasize that we meant business," said Horne, "and we
want to keep our communities safe."

Some pre-complaints have already been received, said Carberry, and
files will be opened on Wednesday.

Estimates are suggesting approximately 20 complaints from across the
territory will come into the office each month. SCAN will cost about
$300,000 a year to operate.

A protocol will be established with the RCMP to ensure that
information-sharing occurs so there is not an adverse impact on
concurrent investigations, Carberry added.

Sgt. Guy Rook said both SCAN and the RCMP share a common goal, but
the key difference is that the police investigate criminal matters
and the government investigations would instead produce civil actions.

"The criminal activity that happens in the house is what police are
interested in," said Rook.

SCAN, however, holds a great deal of promise, he said, adding
anything that combats illegal activities is a positive for Yukon communities.

The Yukon is the third jurisdiction in Canada to implement the safer
communities and neighbourhoods legislation.