The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) says a lack of funding means it will no longer be able to house the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) program, which targets houses and businesses that are regularly used for criminal activities, including drugs, gangs and prostitution.
ALERT says the program uses mostly Alberta Sheriffs, so the responsibility will be passed back to the provincial government.
Here’s a look at what ALERT’s SCAN team did in 2014-2015:
Of the five homes that were closed, three were in Calgary, in the Forest Lawn, Huntington Hills, and Marlborough Park neighbourhoods. One was in Edmonton’s Aldergrove neighbourhood, and one was in Grande Prairie.
The Marlborough Park home in Calgary had been the subject of complaints from local residents due to visible drug trafficking, with police called 27 times during a four-month SCAN investigation. Three of those calls were for suspected overdose deaths.
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READ MORE: Marlborough Park drug den closed after 4-month investigation; 27 complaints
ALERT also takes credit for getting problem tenants removed from a home in Edmonton’s Calder neighbourhood, which was across the street from an elementary school, and was being frequented by prostitutes and drug addicts.
It was also work by the SCAN team that lead to restrictions on a west Edmonton motel in October, which police had visited more than 500 times in just two-and-a-half years.
READ MORE: Prostitution, drug prevention measures include mandatory ID for west Edmonton motel guests
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