Pubdate: Sat, 20 Apr 2013 Source: Peterborough Examiner, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2013 Peterborough Examiner Contact: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/letters Website: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2616 Page: 4 DRUG HOUSE REGISTRY COULD BE PARTNERSHIP Real estate agents and their provincial association popped up twice in police stories in the past few days. Fortunately both were good news stories - or at least the realtors were on the right side of the law. On Wednesday, Ron Dorner, president of the Ontario Real Estate Association, talked to Examiner reporter Galen Eagle about a campaign to have the provincial government set up a registry of homes that have been used as drug production labs or marijuana grow-ops. It's a good idea. Homes used by gangs or cartels as drug factories usually come out in very rough shape. Grow-ops in particular are notorious for heat and humidity damage and residual mould. Future owners should know they need to take more than a surface look at what appears to be pristine drywall and paint, among other potential problems. Dorner lucked out when city police raided a grow-up in an upper-middle income neighbourhood the same day he spoke to our reporter. The real estate association's message received a boost the next day from photos of police carrying pot plants out the front door of an attractive brick home. On Thursday, local real estate agents announced they were partnering with police in a city-wide neighbourhood watch program. No special monitoring or hotline is required - the real estate community has simply committed to keeping an eye out for vandalism, break-ins or other crime when agents are out doing their jobs. It seems the provincial effort could learn something from the local one. While a grow-op registry would be helpful, setting it up would likely not be as simple for the province as the realtors suggest. Consider the time, money and headaches that officials went through before a gun registry (since dismantled) or sex offender registry were finally up and working. However, the OREA could help make a registry a reality. It's a big organization, with more than 55,000 members and $36 million in revenue in 2012. Between clipping services that would deliver information on drug houses from media outlets across the province and co-operation from the provincial court system, the OREA could develop its own registry. It has a website where members could go to check the registry, and regular newsletters and bulletins to generate updates. The registry could also be posted on the public-access section of the OREA website so all potential buyers would be aware. Governments have access to a lot of valuable information and the private sector has existing formats to get that information out to people. Combining the two assets should be more efficient than starting from scratch at one end. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom