BOWDEN - If residents suspect illegal activity is going on in their community there's an alternative besides -- or in addition to -- contacting police, according to the Olds RCMP Staff Sgt. Jim MacDonald.
It's SCAN, which stands for Safer Communities And Neighbourhoods, a unit of the Alberta Sheriffs.
It helps communities deal with properties that are believed to be used for illegal activity like drug trafficking, gang-related crime, child exploitation or prostitution.
During a Sept. 24 meeting, MacDonald urged councillors to pass that information on to town residents who are concerned about crime in the community.
"Where we look at enforcement of provincial laws and criminal laws, SCAN looks at the civil side of dealing with difficult properties. So they have the authority to actually go in and close properties down (if) they have enough information," MacDonald said.
However, "it has to be community-based. The police can't make a referral and say, 'can you come to our community?' It has to be community-driven.
"They'll certainly work with police and look at police records -- what all we've done on investigations -- but it has to be initiated by the community," he added.
MacDonald said SCAN was very effective in Grande Prairie, his previous post before he became commanding officer of the Olds detachment this past January.
"They would put fences up around the whole property and go to court and the residents or the owner of the property (were) out. So it's a very effective tool encouraging people to get on the straight and narrow," he said.
