Authorities have shut down an alleged criminal hangout in southeast Calgary after 147 police calls in the past year, using new legislation for the first time to boot out the occupants and board up the home.
Neighbours and investigators said the house at 2001 38th Street S.E. was a scourge in the community, frequented by prostitutes and drug users.
On Monday, authorities with the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams moved on a year-long investigation.
Steel fencing was erected around the Forest Lawn home; the windows and doors were boarded up.
The occupants, a landlord and his brother, won’t be allowed to live there for 90 days. Neighbours who became concerned after months of suspicious traffic flowing in and out of the home welcomed the news Monday.
"You knew something weird was going on there," said Lori Mundell, who lives across the street.
"I think it’s going to be quieter now, once the word gets out it shut down," she added.
It’s the first time a home has been shuttered in southern Alberta by the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods unit since new legislation was launched in October 2008.
Investigator Mike Letourneau said the probe was prompted after the unit received four complaints from neighbours about regular drug and prostitution activity on the property. The owner will be allowed to return to the home only to renovate the property to prepare it for sale, Letourneau said.
"This is a great, great thing for this community. This legislation specifically empowers people to take back this property," he said.
Calgary police, were called to the location 147 times in the past year.
They laid a few, minor criminal charges.
The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods unit steps in with civil penalties where criminal proceedings might not be warranted, said Acting Supt. Ray Robitaille of the Calgary Police Service.
"The best way to put it is it’s a criminal hangout. They were using it strictly for that purpose. This tool allows us to shut that hangout down," he said.
Next-door neighbour April Harrison, who has three young children, said it had become common to see questionable characters frequenting the home. The closure is a relief, she said.
"Hopefully it will take the prostitutes and drug dealing out of here and it will be safer for my kids," said Harrison.
Since the closure is only temporary, she worries the problems will return once the order is lifted — a concern echoed by other residents who’ve become accustomed to a police showing up at the home.
"We’re glad it’s shut down. But the thing is, it’ll just pop up somewhere else," said Jim Norris, who has lived on the street for 21/2 years.
According to Letourneau, at the end of the 90 days, the property will be turned over to the owner. The court-ordered community safety order closing down the home was a last resort, following several attempts to have the owner comply, he said.
Investigators will continue to monitor the home, Letourneau said.
It’s unclear whether the province will recoup the costs for maintaining the house during the 90-day period, though the tab isn’t expected to be more than $10,000, he said.
jkomarnicki@theherald.canwest.com
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.