Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 Source: Yorkton This Week (CN SN) Copyright: 2007 Yorkton This Week Contact: http://www.yorktonthisweek.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2543 Author: Ann Harvey, YTW Staff Writer FOR NEIGHBOURHOOD SAFETY Reflecting on a nationPeople in this province whose neighbours disturb and scare them by engaging in illegal activity have a legal remedy. That's the message of a brochure that Sask Justice distributed in Yorkton, Estevan and some northern communities last week, says Murray Sawastky, executive director of the law enforcement services branch of Sask Justice. The province has legislation and the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Investigation Unit to protect people from when law breakers move near them. The unit enforces the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, which was created by Justice Minister Frank Quennell, and enacted in 2005, he said. Manitoba was the first jurisdiction in Canada to create such legislation and, Sawastky said. "They actually started it the year before we did." Saskatchewan was the second and the NWT and the Yukon plus one or two provinces in Eastern Canada have since adopted it. "What it's designed to do is improve community safety by targeting and shutting down residential and commercial buildings being used for illegal activities." These activities include producing, selling or using illegal drugs, prostitution and any other substance abuse such as illegal sale or consumption of alcohol. "The police are limited in what they do because they work under the drug and criminal law that they enforce. They do investigations which lead to charges for such things as possession and sale of drugs." Sawastky said the individuals charged may be released before their cases are heard or they may be convicted and released with fines or following incarceration. That allows the lawbreakers to go right back to the activity, meaning their neighbours continue to be subjected to their illegal behavior, he said. "This is an intermediate step between municipal and criminal law allowing investigators to go in and stop the activity. "It (the act) focuses on the activities (occurring) on the property not the people," he said. Police co-operate with the unit's 10 investigators - five in Saskatoon and five in Regina. The unit's investigators are all retired police officers, Sawastky said. "They have the requisite background to be able to conduct these investigations and discern or understand what they see." Sawastky said Saskatchewan has had about 500 investigations. Complaints first came from Regina and Saskatoon. "It very, very quickly spread because our investigators went out in the communities talking to elected officials in municipalities and band council in First Nation communities. "We're finding that we're getting investigations all over the province, surprisingly enough even in very small communities of 100 to 200 people." Andrew Dinsmore, a Sask Justice communications officer said there was one complaint in Yorkton which was resolved through informal action. And, since the brochure was distributed, the unit has received numerous complaints. For about half of the investigations the investigators have taken no action, Sawastky said. They don't see evidence of criminal activities. "Sometimes people have stopped doing what they were doing. "Under this act no charges are laid against the person. The focus is on the property. The residence (or commercial property) is shut down because it's being used for illegal activities. "There are a number of options under the act. If we are able to satisfy ourselves that the activity is taking place on the property, we can have the tenant evicted with a community safety order. "In many cases that is the only option, but there are some interim steps that are taken before eviction." "We had an example where there was a home owned by a family and one of the children was trafficking from the residence. Investigators talked with the parents who agreed the activity would stop. "Eviction is the last resort." Neighbours find the illegal activity is stopped, he said. "They see a result immediately." These investigations go through the regular court system, he said. "If the people simply refuse to comply with an eviction order our investigators would have to get a court order at Queen's Bench court." And, Sawastky said, this is not a way for people to cause trouble for innocent neighbours simply because they dislike them. And, as is usual in the legal system, people have recourse if they feel they have been treated unjustly. "We feel that there is no infringement of anyone's rights. "There are checks and balances. There are certain opportunities for people to appeal." Appeals would first go to Queen's Bench Court and, if the people continued to appeal, it would go to a higher court. Sawastky said investigators have found that landlords embraced the act and co-operate with investigations. "They didn't like the (illegal) activities but they may have been intimidated. "They were afraid of the tenants so they simply allowed them to live there and continue those activities." - --- MAP posted-by: Derek