GROW-OP SEARCHES GOOD, IF NOT ABUSED

The City of Surrey has come up with a novel way to discourage
residential grow-ops: the Electrical and Fire Safety Inspection team.

EFSI investigates tips on suspected grow-ops. A call is placed to B.C.
Hydro's security department to see if the house is using an unusual
amount of electricity.

Occupants or owners of suspect properties are given 48 hours to allow
an inspection of the residence by fire and electrical inspectors.
Failure to do so will result in the power being cut until access is
granted.

The inspection team includes two police officers whose only function
is to protect the inspectors. The team doesn't arrest anyone for
growing pot.

City officials say grow operators tend to dismantle the farm and move
on once the team drops by. They claim more than 200 grow-ops have been
taken down since the team's inception a year ago.

The goal is to discourage the cultivation of marijuana in residential
neighbourhoods, a desirable aim, but the method raises the spectre of
potential abuse of power.

Tips are a useful law enforcement tool, but a false accusation can
cause plenty of grief for an innocent person.

The EFSI also neatly sidesteps the necessity of obtaining a search
warrant as the police must do if they want to enter private property
seeking evidence of crime.

Grow-ops and other drug activities are a scourge upon the land and all
law enforcement entails the weighing of public interest against
personal freedoms. We must watch that the scales don't tip too far in
favour of enforcement.