DRUG RAID SIGNS GET THUMBS DOWN

Civil liberties lawyer is alarmed, while local police defend their use

GUELPH -- The Crime Stoppers drug raid sign is getting low marks from the
legal community.

The Guelph Police-Wellington OPP joint drug squad put the sign on the
boulevard in front of a Victoria Road house Tuesday night as a raid was
carried out inside.

"This is a highly dubious police practice," said Alan Borovoy, general
counsel for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

"They're putting a mark of Cain on people even before a charge is laid."
According to the Bible, God placed a mark on the world's first murderer,
Cain, for killing his brother, Abel, before sending him into exile. The mark
of Cain is said to identify its bearer as a criminal and social outcast.

But Guelph Police Chief Rob Davis said the sign serves a purpose in the area
of the building being searched.

"So many times people in the neighbourhood are left in the dark about what's
happening," he said. "They think things are a lot more serious than they
are. The sign let's them know what's happening and encourages them to call
if they have suspicions about activities in the neighbourhood.

"You have to weigh out the individual's rights versus the right of people to
know what's happening."

David Smith, president of the Wellington Criminal Lawyers' Association,
shares Borovoy's concerns. "I can see it from an enforcement point of view
because it calms neighbours down.

"On the other side of the coin, there is the tried old principle of innocent
until proven guilty. I certainly question what this is doing to that
statement. If a person's going to have a trial, it's like publication in the
newspaper but on a grander scale.

"I'm concerned that the sign makes that a marked house. If somebody goes to
court and is found not guilty, people are still going to think of it as
'that place where the drug raid took place'."

Denise Becker, assistant co-ordinator for Wellington County Crime Stoppers,
said there is no intention to stop using the sign. Guelph police and the OPP
each have a sign and the drug squads intend to place them in from of
buildings during raids.

"I think it's a great idea," Becker said. "I don't know how often they use
it, but I suppose for some people, once is enough."

"I would like to think that the police have more ingenious ways than that to
get a point across without exacerbating the indignity of people," Borovoy
said.

"Police in a democratic society have to engage in activities that infringe
on people's freedoms and dignity from time to time. The guiding principle
should be to do no more harm than they need to do. This comes across as a
gratuitous action."

Davis said, "We can respect anybody's opinion, but it doesn't mean we have
to agree with it. We'll continue to use the sign."

A charge of possession of crack cocaine for the purpose of trafficking was
laid against a 32-year-old Guelph man after Tuesday's raid. Police say they
recovered 23 grams of crack cocaine with a street value of $2,850 in the
raid.