SAFETY TEAM'S FUTURE MURKY

A Court Decision Puts The Existence Of Public Safety Inspection Team In Peril

Langley's Public Safety Inspection Team (PSIT) is once again on hold,
as the Township's lawyers examine a B.C. Supreme Court decision issued
this week.

The decision could block RCMP officers from participating in the
program.

"We are reviewing that, because the RCMP in our view are an integral
part of the team," said Township Mayor Kurt Alberts.

He doesn't want civic officials to enter suspected marijuana grow
operations without a police escort. Langley's team was composed of a
bylaw officer, two RCMP officers, an electrical inspector, a clerical
worker and a firefighter.

In some cases, weapons or even booby traps may be present, Alberts
said.

"That would be of great concern to me," said the mayor.

Langley's RCMP are also talking to the Township about the matter. It
remains to be seen how closely Langley's team followed the procedures
of Surrey's team, and whether the decision applies here, said RCMP
Insp. Richard Konarski.

"The decision may have a narrow application, or a wider application,"
he said.

He noted that police never entered a home with the teams to make
arrests or gather evidence. Their only goal was to safeguard the other
members of the team.

"That was the sole purpose," Konarski said.

Justice William Smart ruled this week on whether police can enter a
home as part of an inspection team.

The teams, which go by various names, have been used to indirectly
crack down on owners suspected of growing pot. Homes with a large
electrical consumption tend to be targeted, because they may be using
the power for hydroponic grow lights.

Pot growers often rewire the homes, and a number of fires have
resulted from sub-standard wiring.

In 2004, a Langley man died when electrocuted in a grow op in a shed
on his property.

Municipal authorities have a right to inspect homes for electrical
problems, provided they give at least 24 hours notice.

The legal case in Surrey began after a team composed of civic staff
and firefighters arrived to inspect the home of Jason Arkinstall, a
Hells Angels associate, in 2007.

He refused to allow police to enter the property, and the rest of the
team would not enter without an RCMP escort. BC Hydro then cut off
Arkinstall's power. A later electrical inspection found no grow op,
just numerous appliances.

Smart ruled that the core concept of safety inspection teams does not
violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

However, he ruled that the police did not have the authority to enter
and search the property without a warrant.

Smart also noted that it might fall to provincial governments to
include police under entry warrants in certain situations.

Entry warrants allow bylaw inspectors to do their work on private
property.

In Langley Township, as in most other jurisdictions, no charges have
been laid as a result of a search by the inspection team.

In most cases, even when a grow op is discovered, it is simply cleaned
up by the police, and the building's owner is then ordered to pay the
cost of clean-up, and to repair unsafe wiring.

More than 220 properties were inspected in a year by Langley's PSIT
before it was shut down in May. The shut down was ordered after a
firefighter was accused of stealing a halogen work light from one of
the homes being inspected.

In most of the Langley cases, they have discovered hastily abandoned
grow ops. In some cases, the high electricity bill turned out to be
because of avid power tool use, hot tubs, or other issues.

In Coquitlam, a similar team targeted a Lions Club fundraiser whose
hot tub was using a lot of juice; he was told his power would be cut
off.