CITY SIGNS TO SINGLE OUT SUSPECTED DRUG HOUSES

Critic Says Practice Open To Abuse

(CNS) City police will begin putting signs outside homes where drug
search warrants have been executed, a practice that occurs in some U.S. cities.

The large signs, reading "Drug Search Warrant," will be erected
regardless of whether charges were laid or a conviction occurs.

Cornwall community police defended the practice, saying that it is a
way to keep residents informed about drug raids in their neighbourhood.

"We feel that we are satisfying the need expressed by the community
to work with them much more closely to elevate our presence and
visibility and ultimately to deal with drug issues in this city,"
Police Chief Dan Parkinson said.

But Graeme Norton of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said
there were serious problems with the policy.

"This raises the potential that an individual may be made to appear
as a drug dealer in their community when they may not have done
anything wrong," he said. "Someone can have their reputation damaged
in a serious fashion."

Norton said such a case can include police executing a search warrant
on a basement apartment and then putting up a sign outside the house
which is owned by another party who was not involved in the search.

He said such labels should be left to the criminal justice system.

"That type of action should not be taken outside of court," Norton
said. "People can't defend themselves against the allegations. I can
imagine how this type of action can be magnified in a small community."

He added that home values in a neighbourhood also may be affected by the signs.

Norton said that he has not heard of a similar policy in any other
Canadian city.

Parkinson said he has had no complaints about the signs.

"We're not out there executing search warrants frivolously,
needlessly," he said. "While this may be bold, it's certainly supported."

The first sign was put in front of a home Wednesday. Police say three
people had previously been arrested on drug charges at the house.

Cornwall is 90 kilometres southeast of Ottawa.

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