BYLAW AIDS DRUG BUSTS

After posting its 17th residence under Vernon's drug-house bylaw
Saturday, RCMP Insp. Steve McVarnock said the two-year-old bylaw has
been helpful but not a cure to the area's drug problems.

Police raided a house Saturday morning in the 2000 block of 33rd
street, taking several people into custody. Some of the nearly dozen
people in the Mission Hill residence at the time will likely be
charged with possessing drugs with the aim of trafficking. The home
has been posted under the city's drug-house bylaw, which closes it to
inhabitation until it is brought up to building code standards by the
owner.

Of the bylaw, McVarnock said: "we're hoping it will put a little more
onus on the landlords to do a little more homework about who they're
renting their property to."

Previously, officers would swarm a drug house and arrest its occupants
but within days trafficking would resume. Now, the homes are out of
business for longer, with the occupants expelled.

But while McVarnock and RCMP spokesman Gord Molendyk both say the
bylaw has proven helpful, it has not solved all Vernon's drug problems.

"Unfortunately what happens when you're dealing with individuals who
are addicted like that, is they tend to gravitate from one place to
another, wherever drugs are being sold," said Molendyk "We need to
look at issues surrounding treatment for some of our addicted
individuals."

Added McVarnock: "If you don't have those tools in place, a lot of
these people are just going to go back to those four walls when
they're released."

The RCMP is also looking at how to work with property owners and the
realty business to try and flag problematic renters as they look for
new homes.