Barriers erected by the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit of the Alberta Sheriffs on Aug. 4 outside a drug house on Cardiff Drive in Calgary.
The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit of the Alberta Sheriffs obtained a court order that took effect at noon on Aug. 4, authorizing them to close the house at 204 Cardiff Drive NW for 90 days.
Under the terms of the community safety order granted by the court, crews boarded up the house, changed the locks and erected a fence around the property. The barriers will remain in place until Nov. 1. The homeowner, whose son lived at the property and allegedly had been renting it out to several tenants, will have access to the property to conduct repairs.
“We value the commitment the SCAN unit and its law enforcement partners have made toward keeping Albertans safe, secure and protected. Left unchecked, criminality can disrupt the peace within an entire otherwise law-abiding community. Thanks to the SCAN unit, a regular source of violence and disorder within this neighbourhood has now been shut down.”
Multiple complaints from the community about drug use, drug trafficking and other criminal activity associated with the property prompted the SCAN investigation, which began in June 2019.
Criminal activity at the property was also a concern for the Calgary Police Service (CPS), which attended the property on 32 different occasions between January 2018 and February 2020. These calls included weapon complaints, complaints of noise and other disturbances, and complaints of stolen vehicles.
In June 2020, CPS responded to reports of multiple gunshots at the property that left bullet holes in a neighbouring house, and a person on the scene sustaining a bullet wound that required hospital treatment.
During several days of surveillance, SCAN investigators observed multiple drug transactions and several people attending the property. Many residents at the property had extensive records for violence.
On July 20, SCAN investigators obtained a community safety order. In addition to barring the homeowner’s son and multiple others from the property until Nov. 1, the court order places the property under supervision until July 20, 2021.
The SCAN unit works with other law enforcement agencies to shut down properties being used for illegal activities. The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act gives sheriffs the authority to target problem properties through civil enforcement.
Since its inception in 2008, Alberta’s SCAN unit has investigated more than 5,800 problem properties and issued more than 80 community safety orders. The majority of complaints are resolved by working with property owners to keep criminal activity out of the community.