FOR NEIGHBOURHOOD SAFETY

Reflecting on a nationPeople in this province whose neighbours disturb
and scare them by engaging in illegal activity have a legal remedy.

That's the message of a brochure that Sask Justice distributed in
Yorkton, Estevan and some northern communities last week, says Murray
Sawastky, executive director of the law enforcement services branch of
Sask Justice.

The province has legislation and the Safer Communities and
Neighbourhoods Investigation Unit to protect people from when law
breakers move near them.

The unit enforces the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, which
was created by Justice Minister Frank Quennell, and enacted in 2005,
he said.

Manitoba was the first jurisdiction in Canada to create such
legislation and, Sawastky said. "They actually started it the year
before we did."

Saskatchewan was the second and the NWT and the Yukon plus one or two
provinces in Eastern Canada have since adopted it.

"What it's designed to do is improve community safety by targeting and
shutting down residential and commercial buildings being used for
illegal activities."

These activities include producing, selling or using illegal drugs,
prostitution and any other substance abuse such as illegal sale or
consumption of alcohol.

"The police are limited in what they do because they work under the
drug and criminal law that they enforce. They do investigations which
lead to charges for such things as possession and sale of drugs."

Sawastky said the individuals charged may be released before their
cases are heard or they may be convicted and released with fines or
following incarceration.

That allows the lawbreakers to go right back to the activity, meaning
their neighbours continue to be subjected to their illegal behavior,
he said.

"This is an intermediate step between municipal and criminal law
allowing investigators to go in and stop the activity.

"It (the act) focuses on the activities (occurring) on the property
not the people," he said. Police co-operate with the unit's 10
investigators - five in Saskatoon and five in Regina.

The unit's investigators are all retired police officers, Sawastky
said. "They have the requisite background to be able to conduct these
investigations and discern or understand what they see."

Sawastky said Saskatchewan has had about 500 investigations.
Complaints first came from Regina and Saskatoon.

"It very, very quickly spread because our investigators went out in
the communities talking to elected officials in municipalities and
band council in First Nation communities.

"We're finding that we're getting investigations all over the
province, surprisingly enough even in very small communities of 100 to
200 people."

Andrew Dinsmore, a Sask Justice communications officer said there was
one complaint in Yorkton which was resolved through informal action.

And, since the brochure was distributed, the unit has received
numerous complaints.

For about half of the investigations the investigators have taken no
action, Sawastky said. They don't see evidence of criminal activities.
"Sometimes people have stopped doing what they were doing.

"Under this act no charges are laid against the person. The focus is
on the property. The residence (or commercial property) is shut down
because it's being used for illegal activities.

"There are a number of options under the act. If we are able to
satisfy ourselves that the activity is taking place on the property,
we can have the tenant evicted with a community safety order.

"In many cases that is the only option, but there are some interim
steps that are taken before eviction."

"We had an example where there was a home owned by a family and one of
the children was trafficking from the residence. Investigators talked
with the parents who agreed the activity would stop.

"Eviction is the last resort."

Neighbours find the illegal activity is stopped, he said. "They see a
result immediately."

These investigations go through the regular court system, he said. "If
the people simply refuse to comply with an eviction order our
investigators would have to get a court order at Queen's Bench court."

And, Sawastky said, this is not a way for people to cause trouble for
innocent neighbours simply because they dislike them.

And, as is usual in the legal system, people have recourse if they
feel they have been treated unjustly. "We feel that there is no
infringement of anyone's rights.

"There are checks and balances. There are certain opportunities for
people to appeal."

Appeals would first go to Queen's Bench Court and, if the people
continued to appeal, it would go to a higher court.

Sawastky said investigators have found that landlords embraced the act
and co-operate with investigations. "They didn't like the (illegal)
activities but they may have been intimidated.

"They were afraid of the tenants so they simply allowed them to live
there and continue those activities."