London Road is a wonderful place to live.
A short walk away from downtown, this historical neighbourhood boasts character and convenience many communities envy.
London Road is home to a diverse demographic group and many maintain this diversity creates a rich and rewarding community. However, even proponents of diversity object to the negative influence ‘drug houses’ have on a neighbourhood.
By taking 3 steps, London Road residents can join together to protect themselves and their neighbours from the disruptive and dangerous influence of drug dealers living and selling out of houses in our area.
Get involved!
Apathy and willful blindness are friends to crime, while unity and community are its enemies. We encourage all London Road residents to join Lethbridge Neighbourhood Watch; it’s free, and the benefits include:
- meeting members of your neighbourhood who share your concerns about security and safety
- the security of knowing others are looking out for you
- the installation of Neighbourhood Watch signs
- neighbourhood solidarity against crime, which lets drug houses and criminals feel unwelcome
In order for Neighbourhood Watch to be effective, participation is required. Getting your “block” involved means: the house on either side of you, the three houses in front of you, and the three houses behind you. That’s all!
Visit the Neighbourhood Watch website for more information.
Or if you’d like to sign up or volunteer to be a Block Captain, phone Constable Blaine Stodolka at 403.330.5020.
Get vocal!
Police officers can intervene against drug dealers and drug houses only if they have enough information to get a search warrant or make an arrest. This is where community action comes in.
The Lethbridge Regional Police Service complaint line is 403.328.4444.
If you are awakened by shouting, have your driveway obstructed by an unknown vehicle, see persons who appear to be driving under the influence, or believe you are witnessing a drug buy, phone this number.
The more people who phone, the more likely there will be a response: ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease’ definitely applies here! The richer the file, the more likely action will follow.
Finally, it’s often the case that owners or occupants of drug houses neglect various civic duties and responsibilities and are frequently in breach of city bylaws. By complaining to City Hall, writing petition letters to council members, and filling in complaint forms at City Hall, bylaw responsibilities can be enforced and tickets may be issued for noncompliance.
Take action!
People may be frustrated by the way police officers seem to have their hands tied by the heavy burden of proof required for criminal proceedings; however, there is another way to approach the activities of drug dealers and the existence of drug houses.
A community in West Lethbridge embarked on what has been termed a Nuisance Neighbourhood Action Suit against a drug house that has negatively impacted them for some time. This is a civil class action suit by all people directly affected by the property complained of and is essentially a suit for damages incurred as a result of the loss of enjoyment of property.
This option allows complainants/plaintiffs to sue for the damage the nuisance of the drug house’s unreasonable use of the property creates, without needing to make any criminal allegations (or be subject to the criminal law’s stringent burden of proof).
Taking back the neighbourhood
We are all interested in improving our neighbourhood: for the sake of our children, our families, our friends and ourselves. Who wouldn’t want to live in a peaceful, character neighbourhood, close to downtown with friendly neighbours and strong community ties?
The very existence of drug houses in the London Road area poses a tangible obstacle to this goal. Drug houses replace trust with suspicion, comfort with fear, and inevitably destroy the value of neighbourhoods. By getting involved, getting vocal, and taking action, these threats to our community can be minimized.
A strong community is not a place where criminals want to be. Criminals want to “fly under the radar,” so by rallying together as a community, we can draw unwanted attention to them and make them know they’re not welcome in our neighbourhood.
What to do if you are bothered by a drug house or nuisance property:
- To report a crime in progress, phone 9-1-1. Do not endanger yourself. Be prepared to provide the dispatcher with information that will assist the police.
- Encourage all of your neighbours to join Neighbourhood Watch as a demonstration of solidarity against crime. Be aware, encourage each other, notice what’s going on around each other’s homes and your neighbourhood, and know your neighbours! To join the Neighbourhood Watch Program, phone Constable Blaine Stodolka at 403.330.5020.
- Phone in license plates (of vehicles coming and going from drug houses) to the drug tip line at 403. 327.1999. Make sure to leave your telephone number so police can phone you back to get more information. Keep reporting and phoning in the license plates every time you see activity, so the police know how much of a problem there is. The squeaky wheel gets the oil! If the police are to get a search warrant, they will need your evidence to support their application. Keep providing ongoing evidence.
- Phone the police complaint line to report ongoing criminal activity: 403.328.4444.
- To file an online police report: lethbridgepolice.ca/start-report.html
- Phone Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) to report problem residences and buildings: 1.866.960.SCAN (7226). SCAN will improve community safety by targeting properties used for illegal activities such as drugs, gangs, and prostitution. It will also hold property owners accountable for what takes place on their property. The website is www.scan.alberta.ca.
- Phone Crime Stoppers at 1.800.222.8477 to report ongoing criminal activity.
- Contact property managers. Property owner information is available at City Hall, or Alberta Land Titles Registry can yield this information. Neighbours can initiate a letter writing campaign to property owners and/or managers or simply phone the owner/manager when there’s a problem. Do not endanger yourself.
- Determine whether the property managers, owners or tenants are in breach of any City bylaws (noise, unsightly premises, nuisance, etc.) or public health violations (this can shut these places down). Contact Regulatory Services at 403.320.3074.
- If there are pets that may be unlicensed or are causing problems (feces not being picked up, excessive barking, etc.) you can phone Animal Control at 403.320.4099; they won’t be able to tell you anything (confidentiality reasons) but you can report it and they will act on it.
- Contact the community liaison officer about how you can keep safe.
- The LRNA can set up a meeting with the police, the neighbours and the Association, at the police station, to discuss a course of action.
- Determine if any behavior warrants a petition or legal action. (A few years ago a neighbourhood in Lethbridge took a landlord to court in a civil class action suit over a nuisance residence, and they were successful. Please be advised that the LRNA cannot give legal advice.) This route can be costly but if the situation is that bad, the whole neighbourhood can pitch in.
- Consider purchasing the problem property. In one local situation, the neighbour adjacent to a problem property grew so frustrated that he purchased the property and evicted the tenant.
Let’s keep our pride in our amazing neighbourhood, in the heart of historic Lethbridge. Let’s take back the neighbourhood. While we cannot eliminate all harms, we can reduce them together!