Pubdate: Fri, 09 Dec 2005 Source: Surrey Leader (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Surrey Leader Contact: http://www.surreyleader.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1236 Author: Kevin Diakiw Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) GROW OP PROGRAM LAUDED A local effort to tackle the problem of marijuana grow ops has won a prestigious award. Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis was in Victoria at Government House today (Friday) accepting the first annual Lieutenant Governor's Award For Public Safety. Garis attended with Dr. Darryl Plecas of the University College of the Fraser Valley, who helped develop the program in which firefighters assist in taking down pot grow operations. B.C. Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo presented the award Friday evening. "This innovative and successful approach focuses on the fire and electrical risks associated with grow ops rather than the issue of criminality," Campagnolo said in a release this week. "It demonstrates the value of different agencies in the community working together to devise new approaches to old problems." Garis said Wednesday he was flattered by the recognition. The program involves police, fire and bylaw cooperation in shutting down suspected grow ops. "When we were building our team, a lot of the challenges were bringing separate organizations with competing interests together and getting them to think along the same lines," Garis said. "The most gratifying thing is the people who are operating this thing - they own it - I can't even get in the way of it." The team uses several sophisticated methods to locate suspected marijuana grow operations. Once they are identified, a request is left at the door to permit an inspection within 48 hours. Failure to comply results in power being shut off to the home. During a 90-day demonstration period in Surrey, a five-person team disrupted hydro to 119 grow operations, which draw huge amounts of hydro to run growing lamps. "In that same 90-day period, the Surrey RCMP detachment took down 75 grow operations - 28 by the green team and 47 by uniformed officers," Garis noted in a report to council. "Based on the statistics, it is clear that the (new) system is able to meet its objectives less expensively and more efficiently than the criminal justice system." The Lieutenant Governor's Award for Public Safety will be presented annually to an organization and/or individual to honour exceptional leadership, innovation or achievement in the promotion of safety in B.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin