ESTEVAN, Sask. — Approximately 30 people learned more about the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) initiative during an information session Oct. 20 at the Days Inn's Taylorton Room.
Johannah Audet, a former member of the Estevan Police Service (EPS), is now an investigator with SCAN and delivered a presentation. Joining her for the meeting were several members of the SCAN unit, including former EPS constable Lana Gropp and former Estevan RCMP member Jamie Markham.
After Audet's presentation, people in the crowd asked questions. Audet noted the audience included elected officials, police officers, the Estevan Community Wellness Committee, members of the Estevan Fire Rescue Service, social services employees and members of the public.
“It was a good mix of people there,” Audet said.
Most people in attendance had never heard of SCAN, she said. There is more awareness of SCAN in larger centres.
Information presented at the meeting says the SCAN Act improves community safety by targeting and, if necessary, shutting down residential and commercial buildings and land regularly used for illegal activities such as producing, selling or using illegal drugs, prostitution, solvent abuse or the unlawful sale and consumption of alcohol.
The act also creates a process in which building fortifications that cause public safety concerns or exceed reasonable security measures for residential or commercial dwellings can be removed.
The information also included details on what to look for in terms of activities that might indicate criminal activity, including frequent visitors at all times of the day and night; frequent late-night activity; blackened windows or drawn curtains; visitors with expensive vehicles; unfriendly people who appear to be secretive about their activities; people watching cars suspiciously as they pass by; extensive investment in home security; strange odours coming from the home or garbage; garbage that contains numerous bottles and containers, particularly chemical containers; and putting garbage out in a neighbour’s collection area.
“If anyone is suspicious of a property in their neighbourhood, do not investigate it yourself or approach the occupants,” the information states.
Those in the Estevan area should call the Regina office at 1-866-517-2337.
“We’re trying to get the word out,” said Audet. “We’re trying to familiarize people with keeping their eyes open and who to call when they see this kind of stuff going down. The more calls we get out to that area, the more time we can actually commit.”
Most of the calls that SCAN answers are related to surveillance, she said. Calls have to meet three criteria to justify launching an investigation: the activity or behaviour must qualify as a specified use, occur habitually and have an adverse effect on the community. The majority of the investigations are drug-related, Audet said.
The identities of people who file a report with SCAN are kept confidential under provincial legislation. She added that police will often refer people to SCAN.
In the past couple of months, Audet said she has been in Estevan a lot. Prior to that, it had been a few months since her last work visit. When she first moved to Regina, she spent a lot of time in Estevan and other southeast communities to work on files.
