Pubdate: Sat, 08 Sep 2012
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal, The (CA)
Copyright: 2012 The Ukiah Daily Journal
Contact: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/feedback
Website: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/581
Author: Tiffany Revelle

LANDOWNERS WITH MARIJUANA ISSUES CAN NOW GET PRIVATE SECURITY

Ukiah resident Ken Good says he saw a need and filled it when he 
started a business this spring that fits a decidedly Emerald Triangle 
niche -- private security for property owners who don't want illicit 
marijuana gardens on their land.

"We hear stories anecdotally in Laytonville," Good said, giving an 
example of the need for his services. "We've had people say they go 
out to get their cattle and someone walked out with an AK-47 in the 
middle of the road."

The idea for his business, Compass Security, sprang from his efforts 
in the summer of 2010 to rally volunteers to tear down marijuana 
gardens in the Mendocino National Forest, and to patrol and remove 
water piping, structures and gardens that pollute the land and leave 
residents in fear for their lives.

Now, with two large timber companies on his client list, he's 
reaching out to smaller land owners and "ranchers who are afraid to 
run cattle in a certain area because there might be people out there 
with guns."

Good's aim is to protect individual property rights by eradicating 
illicit marijuana gardens, on the premise that no one is allowed to 
plant anything on someone else's property without the land owner's permission.

Normally, he acknowledges, that's a job that belongs to law 
enforcement. What he picks up is what law enforcement can't afford to do.

"This is not an indictment of law enforcement; they do the best they 
can with the territory and amount of people they have," Good said. 
"The Sheriff's Office isn't going to go out because you think you 
have an issue. Two COMMET (County of Mendocino Marijuana Eradication 
Team) guys can't spend the whole day hiking your property for that .. 
or drive five miles up a dirt road to kill 300 plants. That's a 
complete waste of time and resources."

His men are armed, licensed security agents who can make citizen's 
arrests. He offers patrol services, posts signs to warn gardeners 
that the property is watched to keep them from returning and offers 
armed escort services so landowners who suspect there may be an 
illicit garden on their property can safely check it out.

"Law enforcement is the first, best option, but the current climate 
has made that nearly impossible," Good said. " There's too much land 
and not enough people."

Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said he's enthusiastic about the 
arrangement, which he called a "partnership" -- a far cry from the 
dubious support law enforcement expressed about Good's 2010 effort to 
rally volunteers to do what his business now does.

The commander of the Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force, which 
eradicates marijuana gardens in the forest and on private land, 
expressed concern that volunteers wouldn't be trained to handle the 
kind of people who shoot at law enforcement officers, but 
acknowledged that the help was needed.

"It's clear with the increase of marijuana on private land, and the 
Sheriff's Office, because we have had no large increase in staffing, 
it's hard to keep up with the increase," Allman said, adding that 
Good's company works closely with his office. "I fully support this 
eradication effort."

Allman also acknowledged that Compass Security doesn't just 
eradicate, but "prevents poisons and fertilizers (associated with 
illegal grows) from getting into the streams and polluting the land."

Good can be reached by e-mail at  ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom