JUDGE OKAYS POT INSPECTION TEAMS-MINUS COPS

A landmark B.C. Supreme Court decision has upheld an initiative to
clamp down on homes suspected of containing marijuana grow operations.

But the ruling could at least temporarily put the brakes on the
Richmond off-shoot of the Surrey-piloted program because police are
no longer allowed to attend the home inspections.

Richmond Fire-Rescue acting fire chief Ron Beaman told The Richmond
Review Monday that it will take some time for the City of Richmond to
digest the contents of last Friday's court ruling and its
implications for Richmond's electrical safety inspection program.

"We want to make sure we're on good ground. We have to take into
consideration the safety of inspectors."

Alerted by B.C. Hydro to homes consuming large amounts of power, an
electrical safety inspection team-comprising a city bylaw officer, a
fire safety inspector and a police officer-gives notice of an
inspection of a property, and then searches for home hazards that
might be responsible.

Knowing the hazards that an inspection could pose, Beaman said that
the lack of a police presence could place the team in danger.

The dangers of marijuana growing operations are well known, with
stories of booby-traps, gardeners wielding weapons and violent
late-night grow-rips.

Beaman said it could take a few weeks before a staff report is
prepared for council, and in the meantime, the next round of
inspections could be suspended.

The Richmond program has had a definite impact, Beaman said, even
though it's been less than a year since its inception.

Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis launched the initiative in March 2005
after a successful pilot project. Homeowners with high power
consumption are notified they will be subject to an inspection. If
the homeowner refuses, or a grow operation is found, the power to the
home is shut off.

In a judgment released Friday, Justice William Smart ruled that the
Safety Standards Amendment Act, which allows electrical inspection
teams to enter residences suspected of containing grow operations,
does not violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

However, bringing police along for the inspection breaches Section 8
of the Charter, which protects the public against unreasonable
search, Smart found went too far.

"A police search of a private residence, even when conducted in aid
of an electrical safety inspection, is intrusive," Smart wrote in his
ruling. "The search and police presence during the safety inspection
add a significant stigma to the inspection, imbuing it with an aura
of criminality absent from a typical electrical safety inspection.
These factors must be considered together with the very high
expectation of privacy that attaches to a private residence."

Garis said Monday he's extremely pleased with the ruling.

"It's an absolute win," Garis said in a cell phone interview. "What
was preserved first and foremost is the legislation."

The Supreme Court ruling validates the working relationship between
the provincial and municipal governments to shut down grow operations
using the new method, Garis said.

The fact police officers won't be able to come to the door is an easy
workaround, he said.

"It doesn't preclude them from being on the street," Garis said. "It
doesn't preclude us from using security, we still haven't wrestled
that one to the ground yet. Either way we can make work."

He said the days of pot growers using booby-trapped buildings and
guard dogs are a thing of the past, noting his team only found a
"small handful" of cases where he would consider it a property of concern.

He also noted because the program doesn't involve taking the
suspected growers to court, the threat level is minimized somewhat
for the team.

"There's no risk of criminal prosecution, so the stress levels aren't
that high," Garis said.