The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit of the Alberta Sheriffs obtained a court order against the owner of 1607 3 Avenue N that gives investigators the authority to close the property for 90 days, starting at noon on Jan. 10. Any tenancy agreement or lease of any tenant of the property is terminated effective that date.
The community safety order, obtained in Court of King’s Bench, bars people from the property until the closure period ends on April 9. The property will be boarded up, fenced and all the locks will be changed. SCAN unit members will continue to monitor activities at the property while their investigation remains ongoing.
“The SCAN unit is instrumental in ensuring the safe communities that we all deserve. I am pleased to see that, since its announcement in November, the southern Alberta SCAN team has taken swift action to confront and eliminate criminal activity in our neighbourhoods. Alberta’s government will do whatever it takes to keep all Albertans safe.”
“When SCAN closes a problem property anywhere in the province, we make an immediate, positive difference in the lives of Albertans. The southern Alberta SCAN team’s close partnership with the Lethbridge Police Service has been a key driver of our success in addressing properties like this one and I look forward to future progress.”
The Alberta Sheriffs work with other law enforcement agencies to shut down properties being used for illegal activities. The SCAN unit operates under the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, which uses legal sanctions and court orders to hold owners accountable for illegal activity happening on their property.
Since its inception in 2008, Alberta’s SCAN unit has investigated more than 8,000 properties and issued approximately 100 community safety orders. Most complaints are resolved by working with owners to stop the illegal activity on their property.
Quick facts
- Between Sept. 1, 2021, and Aug. 28, 2023, Lethbridge police attended the property 36 times for various types of calls for service. Eight complainants from the neighbourhood contacted SCAN.
- The southern Alberta SCAN unit was announced on Nov. 15, with a new team of six SCAN investigators from the Alberta Sheriffs based in Lethbridge.
- The new SCAN team based in Lethbridge will help complaints coming from southern Alberta get addressed in a timelier manner.
Related information
Related news
- New sheriff team established in southern Alberta (Nov. 15, 2023)