COPS WILL GET LOOK AT ELECTRICITY LIST

The city department that oversees the Vancouver Police Department's
Growbusters marijuana team is working with B.C. Hydro to identify city
properties with unusually high consumption rates of
electricity.

Carlene Robbins, the city's manager of bylaw administration, said the
information will likely translate to more leads for Growbusters. Theft
of electricity is often associated with marijuana growing operations,
or grow ops.

Robbins said how the information will be retrieved is still being
worked out with B.C. Hydro. But she believes the city will receive a
weekly or monthly report with all addresses in the city with high
consumption levels of electricity. "Our electrical inspectors know, on
the average, what consumption an average single-family house consumes
over a month," Robbins said. "So if your consumption is three times
the normal rate, then that could indicate that something's going on,
most likely a grow op."

Though Robbins said the reports will be another tool for the city to
find grow ops, she pointed out the police will still need to conduct
regular investigation to gather enough grounds to obtain a search
warrant. If police don't suspect the property contains a grow op,
Robbins said, the city will still investigate the property to
determine why so much power is being used. An electrical hazard could
exist, she added.

A recent amendment to the provincial Safety Standards Act allows
municipalities to request reports of high consumption rates of
electricity. The amendment was enacted in May and driven by public
safety concerns over grow ops in neighbourhoods.

Previously, B.C. Hydro wouldn't disclose such comprehensive lists to
municipalities because of privacy legislation.

In 2005, Growbusters shut down 210 properties in the city containing
grow ops. As of June 29, the team busted 80 properties this year.

Sgt. Tom Cork, the officer in charge of the team, said the amendment
to the Act will help police build a bigger list of potential grow ops.
Cork said the police get 15 to 20 tips a week through various sources.

Prior to the amendment to the Act, police could only obtain
information on a single property after filing a request with B.C.
Hydro under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The amendment appears to be a roundabout way of police getting the
information. But Cork said police have to abide by the Act that is
written.

"It's the Safety Standards Act, it's for electrical hazards and we're
not electricians, we're a police department."

The Growbusters team comprises six police officers, two city
electrical inspectors, two firefighters and a representative from B.C.
Hydro. The team has discovered marijuana in dilapidated houses,
million-dollar mansions, warehouses and condominiums.

Cork said the average power consumption in a single-family home in
Vancouver is about 1000 to 1,500 kilowatt hours over two months. A
grow op may use three to 10 times the power of an average home.

Many of the 221,780 residential B.C. Hydro customers in Vancouver have
or will receive an insert this month about grow ops with their B.C.
Hydro bills.