POT LUCK

WEST Vancouver police have been taking sentimental journeys back to the
days when cops didn't need probable grounds to check out people's personal
property.

But unlike the good old days, there are now civil liberties groups out
there that are quick to react to such inappropriate measures. And right
they are on this point.

Last week, West Vancouver Police Department officers armed with no less
than five drug-sniffing dogs boarded at least two Nanaimo-bound ferry
sailings at Horseshoe Bay to look for drugs on vehicle decks. West
Vancouver's finest had a hunch that bad guys were using our ferry system to
transport drugs. We bet they are also using our road system. And we further
bet that if you take a head count, there are far more law-abiding citizens,
with Charter rights protecting them from unreasonable searches, on ferries
or roads than drug smugglers.

If police had a reliable tip that a specific person on a ferry was hauling
a load of pot across, that would be different. Get a search warrant, and go
for it. Leave the rest of the ferry passengers and their possessions alone.

Perhaps the proof is in the pudding as to whether this police action was
merited. Besides a handful of joint seizures, only three people face
charges with two seizures of less than 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) of marijuana.

Maybe West Vancouver's police should stick to dry land and be ready to
respond to policing emergencies in the municipality next time they feel
like cruising. Fishing expeditions are best left to fishermen in this country.