Occupants evicted from homes in Riverdale, downtown area
The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit of the Department of Justice has taken action to stop illegal activity on two properties in Whitehorse.
The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit of the Department of Justice has taken action to stop illegal activity on two properties in Whitehorse.
Following confidential complaints from members of the community, the SCAN unit conducted an extensive investigation on two properties, officials said today.
One is in Riverdale and one in the downtown core. Specific addresses were not released.
In both cases, SCAN officials had received complaints of frequent visits, suspicious activity and fear of retaliation for speaking out against the behaviour.
"Evidence from both investigations established a reasonable belief that illicit drugs were being sold and transferred from the properties,” officials said in a statement.
"The tenants were evicted from both properties under the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act.”
"The Government of Yukon is committed to responding to the concerns of citizens regarding the safety of their communities,” said Justice Minister Mike Nixon.
"SCAN is one of the ways citizens and government can respond to recurring illegal activity that is having a negative impact on their neighbourhood.”
SCAN has received close to 500 complaints since the unit was established in 2006.
Last year, the SCAN unit received 50 new complaints and completed 23 investigations that resulted in verbal or written warnings, evictions or community safety orders.
"The SCAN unit investigates complaints received from across Yukon and has contributed to community safety,” Nixon added.
"We encourage anyone who is concerned about recurring illegal activity in their neighbourhood to make a confidential complaint to SCAN.”
Individuals can make a complaint by phone at 867-456-SCAN (7226) or toll-free at 1-866-530-7226, email or through a recently created online complaint form.
The Internet site www.SCANYukon.ca has more information.
Comments (13)
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withheld on Jul 2, 2013 at 10:56 am
I agree this will not stop the dealer immediately but it will make them move around and sooner than later they will be without housing and choose to leave Whitehorse or make an error dealing on the streets and the RCMP will charge them and hopefully courts prosecute them.
There is no way to stop dealing but SCAN is one more tool in Yukon for me as a home owner to make it harder for someone to move next door to me and deal. I like it!
Now if the law makers would get tough on dealers, that would be even better. SCAN and RCMP evict or charge but, courts are bound by a lenient criminal code...
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Jackie Ward on Jul 2, 2013 at 8:46 am
Well, this solves no problem at all. The drug dealers won't magically stop selling drugs. The users won't magically stop using.
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Truth on Jul 2, 2013 at 3:40 am
Watch where the drugs are being delivered, it could be to important figures of this Town. What, do you think it's just the little people of this society that are doing drugs~!
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flyingfur on Jun 28, 2013 at 4:06 am
Jackie: SCAN legislation has been around in most provinces and territories for years and has been challenged in court several times and it is still considered law and sufficient reason to impose the penalties in SCAN legislation. It includes surveillance footage, statements from locals, and criminal history of the people turning their neighbourhoods into drive-thru drug stops. You can feel like the champion of civil rights all want...but your assertions that this is not legal is without basis. You don't know what you are talking about.
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I suppose on Jun 27, 2013 at 2:55 am
.... You all must have forgotten that we've had drug dealers here for a long while now. Some born and raised Yukoners, some extremely normal people, who choose to make their income in a rather harmful way. But they've co-mingled with us far better then some others I've seen. There was the 21 year old guy from Port Alberni, flashed his gun at Earl's then held and beat some people who owed some money... Or this 19 year old recently doing a drive by shooting. I'm not condoning drug dealing, I'm just fully aware that when you move one out - you move one in. Some of these guys will eventually decide they don't want to constantly be worried about ending up caught or in jail and they wanted to start families, they may even move. Then the real fun begins, there are far worse people out there who love the idea of Whitehorse, because there is less violence therefore less potential threat to these dealers. But when these guys are coming from areas more prone to violence it gets escalated and fast here. It's sometimes better to weigh your options, don't use all your resources/rights going after the smaller guys. Because then you've run yourself up a creek when the bigger guys start coming (and they slowly are). And patting anyone on the back at this stage is premature at best, you're probably just creating a bigger problem not fixing one at all.
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johnjack on Jun 27, 2013 at 1:07 am
So many brain washed people!!!!
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Jackie Ward on Jun 26, 2013 at 4:13 am
Yes "hmmmm" so would I. But there is a little thing called the law. Thinking someone is doing something and proving it are 2 completely different scenario's. My comment is not sticking up for people turning my neighborhood into crap. My comment is defending the rule of law and the proper procedures it is suppose to follow.
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melba on Jun 26, 2013 at 12:51 am
SCAN is a good program that takes action and throws people out who are wrecking neighbourhoods, where nobody else seems able or willing to do anything. Think 'Dealer on Wheeler', a joke that went on for over a decade with the RCMP fully aware of what was going on. The neighbours had to put up with a crack house and all the little crack heads coming and going to get their drugs. That was totally outrageous and unnacceptable. The least we can do is disrupt the life of the crack dealer by forcing him and all the drug customers to find another location, over and over if need be. Throw them out.
And June? I believe marijuana should be legal and sold in the liquor store. I do not equate it with crack, meth, coke etc, and see it as less harmful than alcohol. However, I do not think neighbours should have to put up with traffic coming to get pot or booze anymore than for crack or meth.
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Southerner on Jun 25, 2013 at 4:18 pm
Hats off to project SCAN, RCMP and Gov't for removing these drug houses!
Whitehorse, you do not need this.
Living in the City of Edmonton, and next door to a drug house, we went through absolute HELL with this drug house. We had people coming into our neighbourhood to this house - without drivers licenses, no insurance, stolen vehicles, right out of jail, and carrying weapons. All for crack cocaine, pot and who knows what else. We constantly lived in FEAR in our homes and coming home as one never knew what they might see or come across.
And if something happened? No recourse for you, other than being dead or left as a vegetable because of who came there and what you innocently saw!
How do you value your life and your children who may want to play outside or the innocent senior walking on the street???
We so appreciated our City police and SCAN helping us restore our lives and neighbourhood.
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Doug Rutherford on Jun 25, 2013 at 10:15 am
I've had SCAN close a drug house across the street. When the landlady started cleaning, there were over a thousand needles lying around in the house. I'm glad the program is in effect.
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hmmm on Jun 25, 2013 at 5:20 am
Damien if you owned a home next to these scum bags you would want them out of the way. They draw in the people you don't want. Hats off to SCAN.
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Damien lankow on Jun 24, 2013 at 9:21 am
Pathetic. How can you evict anyone without having solid proof of these actions. Not to mention, do you think this is going to stop these people from selling drugs? Nope, they're going to move to another location so someone else has to deal with them. SCAN should be illegal.
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June Jackson on Jun 24, 2013 at 8:18 am
I am happy to see so many reports. From most of the news you'd think that everyone is a junkie or a pothead and family values.. honesty, integrity, respect are a thing of the past, and no one cares anyway.. But, when folks care about their neighborhoods, care about what behaviours are influencing their children, foresee risks..it all indicates that family and decency is alive and well and living in Whitehorse.
And before the potheads even start writing in.. no.. street drugs and decency do not belong in the same sentence. Potheads always have to say or do something to justify their use.