COUNCIL WANTS TO BILL AFTER DRUG BUSTS

In an effort to cut off the proliferation of grow ops and meth labs in Pitt
Meadows, council is considering a bylaw allowing them to send a bill to the
owners of the problem properties.

"According to the police, illegal activity is increasing in Pitt Meadows
and seriously impacts both the safety and integrity of our municipality,"
reads a staff report submitted to councillors on Tuesday. "These operations
not only tax limited resources, but wastes valuable time of firefighters,
police officers and municipal staff that could have been used on other
proactive initiatives throughout the district."

The Pitt Meadows Committee of the Whole voted to give their recommendation
to the proposed cost recovery bylaw, which will be forwarded to the April
15 meeting of council for first, second and third reading.

The Ridge Meadows RCMP and the Pitt Meadows Fire Department attended 12
grow and controlled substance manufacturing operations within the district
during 2001 and 2002. Police currently have 140 tips on about 20 separate
addresses in Pitt Meadows.

It is estimated by staff that the cost for each grow-op bust, and the
subsequent cleanup and investigation, costs about $2,500 per operation. The
bylaw aims to recover the full costs associated with either grow ops or
methamphetamine labs.

Once a property is busted by the RCMP, both the municipal staff and fire
department step in to dismantle and deal with the effects of the cleanup.
If electrical or gas installations have been modified to accommodate the
grow op or meth lab, and hazardous conditions exist, BC Hydro and BC Gas
are called in. Pitt staff perform site inspections, take photos and contact
property owners, and also provide police with property tax and land title
information.

Information given to council from Ridge Meadows RCMP detachment officer
indicate an enthusiastic support for the project. Police also expressed
interest in a similar bylaw for Maple Ridge.

RCMP and district staff said the organized crime element responsible for
the grow operations use many techniques to result in "no case seizures"
which result in no charges. The "innovative" techniques include the use of
rental properties, purchasing new properties, using fictitious names and
then abandoning the properties after harvesting less than four crops.

Last year, Surrey passed a bylaw allowing cost recovery for police, fire
and inspection staff , while Vancouver's three-year-old measures include a
coordinated enforcement project team for illegal grow operations.