Plainsman1963

OCPS looking to recover costs of dismantling grow operations
MISSISSAUGA AND BRAMPTON AMONG CITIES WHO HAVE PASSED BYLAWS
03-14-06 | Woodstock Sentinel | Bruce Urquhart

The Oxford Community Police Service Board is investigating a novel approach to recouping some of the costs associated with dismantling the growing number of marijuana grow operations.

At Monday’s board meeting, the members endorsed Chief Ron Fraser’s request to research bylaws adopted by the cities of Brampton and Mississauga, as well as legislation passed in British Columbia, that allow municipalities to recover a portion of the costs from the occupant or property owner of a dismantled grow operation.

"We do dismantle these grow operations in all the (member) municipalities, and there is some cost associated," Fraser said. "The intent is to put some sort of lien on the property to recoup the cost of doing it."

The B.C. legislation is the most sweeping, allowing its municipalities to recover these expenses by permitting a priority lien on the grow-op premises. The Mississauga bylaw, which is permitted under the Municipal Act, allows its officers to issue the maximum fine "permitted under Part III of the Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33, as amended, exclusive of costs." Corporations that do not comply with this Mississauga bylaw can face a maximum fine of $5,000.

In all three agreements, the police service invoices the municipality for the enforcement costs before the municipality attempts its recovery from the occupant or property owner. The costs are then levied to the property owner through the municipal tax roll, helping offset the cost of this type of criminal activity.

"Anything that addresses the cost of criminal behaviour and reduces the cost to the taxpayer certainly has my support," Woodstock Mayor Michael Harding said after the meeting.

Fraser called the costs associated with the recent spate of grow operations as "substantial," saying the overtime involved in the search and seizure at the former Gold Coin restaurant in Woodstock cost more than $12,000. The costs associated with the less elaborate grow operations are still considerable, the chief added.

"You still have four or five officers involved working at least 20 hours each," he said.

While the federal government does have "proceeds-of-crime" legislation, it doesn’t really deal with a municipality’s costs in grow-op enforcement. During a May 2005 meeting of the province’s standing committee on justice policy, Supt. Ron Taverner, the chair of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police’s substance abuse committee, urged the Liberal government to change Bill 128 to mirror the cost-recovery provisions in the B.C. legislation.

"One of the things we are asking for is some legislative powers for the municipality to collect so that some funds can go back into the effective investigation, enforcement, entries-these sorts of things," Taverner said. "It’s very costly."

In 2005, the Oxford Community Police Service dismantled a number of grow operations in its jurisdiction, including a $340,000 lab on Blandford-Blenheim Township Road 4 and a $300,000 lab on Springbank Road in Woodstock. In addition to the social costs of a "controlled substance factory," marijuana grow operations carry an increased risk of both residential fires and electrical shock because of bypassed hydro connections.