Pubdate: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 Source: Now, The (Surrey, CN BC) Copyright: 2006 The Now Newspaper Contact: http://www.thenownewspaper.com/forms/lettersform.html Website: http://www.thenownewspaper.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1462 Author: Ted Colley SURREY'S GROW-OP-BUSTING TEAM EXPANDS City Hall Is Stepping Up Its Hunt For Grow-Ops In Surrey. A five-member team of electrical and fire inspectors, escorted by police, has been at work for about a year checking city homes with sky high electrical bills, looking for marijuana grow-ops. In that time, 353 Surrey homes have been inspected. According to a report from Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis, the "vast majority" showed evidence they had been used as grow-ops. The report also noted 86 per cent of the homes inspected had "significant electrical problems" leading to disconnections and repair orders. The team only concerns itself with safety violations under various city and provincial regulations and does not carry out criminal investigations, eliminating the need to obtain search warrants in order to enter the premises. Occupants of a suspect house are given several days' notice that an inspection is imminent and generally dismantle their grow-ops beforehand. City officials believe this will result in a reduction of illegal horticulture in Surrey. On Monday, council approved adding six more members to the team, more than doubling its current size. The province recently brought in new legislation allowing easier access for municipal governments to B.C. Hydro records and Surrey officials have identified about 1,600 city residences with unusually high electrical consumption often related to grow-ops. The team estimates about 1,100 of those will require inspections and more bodies are needed to carry them out. Garis estimated the work can be completed in seven or eight months. The city will hire an electrical inspector to add to the team; several firefighters and police officers will also join its ranks. - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine