ELECTRICAL INSPECTIONS GOING BACK ON, PROGRAM SNIFFS OUT
GROW-OPS

Richmond's electrical safety inspection program is poised to be
plugged back in.

Coun. Derek Dang, chair of the community safety committee, said if
council agrees with Tuesday's committee recommendation, steps will be
taken to minimize any potential harm to mistakenly targeted local homes.

Based on power consumption data provided by B.C. Hydro, the program
identifies homes using a large quantity of electricity, and gives
notice that a team of electrical inspectors and firefighters will be
conducting an inspection out of safety concerns.

Although the program's focus is safety, it was crafted to deal with
the city's proliferation of marijuana growing operations inside
houses, condos and townhomes.

But not every home that uses lots of power hides a marijuana
grow-op.

In fact, of the 126 inspections conducted in 2007, only 64, or a
little less than 50 per cent, showed evidence of a marijuana grow-op.

In 2008, only 52 inspections were completed, and only six showed signs
of marijuana.

Dang said that unlike past practice, a police car will not be parked
out in front of a house being inspected, to avoid unfairly
stigmatizing the homeowner who may be perfectly innocent.

Instead, before any inspections are completed, a threat-assessment
will be conducted, and the police cruiser will be parked in the
neighbourhood, but in direct two-way communication with the inspectors
in the event of a problem, Dang said.

Aside from sniffing out grow-ops, this program has been successful in
acting as a deterrent to criminals. The number of homes with high
power consumption numbers has decreased in Richmond and other
communities operating similar programs, Dang noted.

The program has largely been well received by the community, Dang
said, and he believes the benefits are clear.

Aside from posting an inspection notice on the door, efforts will be
made to track down the owner of the home, in the event it is a rental
property, to keep the owner apprised of the inspection any what is
found.