By Ashley Wiebe

Police call on SCAN to help close second property

Aug 30, 2017 | 4:15 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Medicine Hat police estimate there are 30 active drug houses in the city right now.

Many of their resources are being utilized to get the drugs off the streets while stopping the drug deals from happening.

“Most of those houses will be dealt with at the ground level with our patrols,” said Staff Sgt. Cory Both. “Our patrol guys will be out there diligently doing their checks, doing their enforcement. The neighbours at most of these places are fairly good at advising us of any activity and helping us out.”

Both said they’ve been receiving more and more anonymous tips about drug activity around the city. Depending on the impact it’s having on the community, they may call in other units, like organized crime and priority street crimes, to help.

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“[It] usually culminates in a search warrant and that results in the arresting and charging of the people involved and typically that will be enough to shut it down,” Both said. “But not always.”

In one case last year, police partnered with the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit, and seized a home at 390 Aberdeen Street.

Chris Kohlman has lived next door to what police were calling a notorious drug house for six years and had seen everything.

“It got to the point where we just couldn’t handle it anymore,” he said. “When they’re openly going out into the street and selling drugs right in front of the daycare, it’s got to stop.”

Both said SCAN members have authorities that police officers don’t.

“As a matter of sort of a last resort, to Medicine Hat anyway, when our resources can’t handle these problem drug houses because we’ve exhausted our resources, our capabilities, we’ll call SCAN in and work with SCAN,” he said, adding they’ve been working together again on shutting down another house in the city, this time in the Flats.

“[SCAN is] at a point where they’ve made application to the courts to finalize a closure and there should be some SCAN action on it in the next week or two,” Both added.

“I’m happy that they’re doing something about it,” Kohlman said. “As I said with the first closure, I appreciated the fact that there was due process in place for the resident of the home. They were given opportunities to change and they didn’t. It was more of a last resort.”

Both said a measure like this happens when laying criminal charges doesn’t stop the behaviour in the area or the cycle or court dates and bail hearings.

SCAN uses the approach of focusing on the neighbourhood well-being.

“We want to give them some sort of resolution to it because it is a huge community safety problem, it affects their lawful enjoyment of their property and their neighbourhood,” Both said.