Alberta Sheriffs have closed a house in northwest Calgary on Monday after an investigation into alleged drug activity in the area, provincial officials said.
According to Insp. Mike Dirkson of Alberta Sheriffs, the investigation started in March last year after the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit received three complaints regarding behaviours and activities on a property. The house is located at 19 Berwick Crescent N.W.
Dirkson told reporters on Monday that officers who were involved in the investigation saw alleged drug transactions happening in front of the property. Dirkson also said the property was known to police and Alberta Health.
“Information we were receiving from the community outlined drug paraphernalia being found around the property, in public areas, on the grass. Overall, a pretty significant impact on the community,” he said. “There’s certainly violence police had to attend for violence-related calls, both originating at the property and then spilling out into the community.”
Alberta Sheriffs then served a warning letter to the owner last May. However, conversations about the alleged drug activity at the property with the owner were not successful, Dirkson said.
SCAN investigators obtained a community safety order from the Court of King’s Bench last month, which allowed officers to close and monitor the property for 60 days.
A news release from the province said the closure is effective starting at noon on Monday, May 27 and will end on July 29.
“I really hope that this closure will bring some relief to the community and also break that cycle of violence and criminality that we’re seeing originate from this property,” Dirkson said.
Jenny said she and other neighbours were concerned about thefts and break-ins, as well as the people living at the property. Global News is not identifying her due to safety concerns.
“We were always worried,” she said.
Jenny told Global News she believed 17 rooms were being rented at the property, and she helped a couple who were evicted with no notice find food and a hotel room last fall.
Those tenancy agreements have been terminated by the province when the house was closed on Monday.
“I feel sorry for a lot of the people who were living in there because they’re disenfranchised people and it costs a lot of money to live anywhere but this is not the way to do it, not like this,” Jenny said.