IT'S GOOD TO BE NOSY

Police are always asking the public to be on the lookout for suspicious
activity and to report it when you do see it.

That same request has come up again since last week's bust at a home-based
marijuana growing operation in Burgessville.

There are misconceptions about what happens when you call police to report
a crime. You can report things anonymously. If you fear for your safety,
say so and you simply say what you saw or heard. What's the harm in that?
That is the reason there are services like Crime Stoppers.

There is more potential for harm if you don't report something. Using the
marijuana grow as an example, if there were no tip from the public, the
police might not have investigated. The grower would have gone on expanding
the operation to include all but one room in the house. There would be
chemicals stored in hazardous conditions and handled with no regard for
safety; the bulbs used to give light to the crop could have exploded,
setting of a chain reaction with the chemicals and starting a fire in the
house; black mould spores could be spread all over the area.

The plant buds would have made their way onto the street to be sold to your
child or a friend or family member. The leaves, which are discarded as
useless, could have been found by youth who would just as easily experiment
with the substance as turn it over to a parent.

When you report something like this, the police respond efficiently and as
many witnessed last week, clear out the operations and their caretakers.

We may not want these people in our neighbourhoods, but as we have seen in
our own backyard, they are here and they don't draw a lot of attention to
themselves. Don't mind your own business if you think something illegal is
going on.