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The dilemma of ‘nightmare neighbours’ The Chilliwack Progress begins a two-part series on problem properties and the challenges they pose for neighbours, politicians and police.
heading south things remain largely unchanged. “Their efforts, individually, appear to be heroic,” Frank lamented. “But collectively, their response has been an abject failure.” What’s a guy to do?
Eric Welsh
The RCMP would say Frank’s done everything he should do, and more. In a lengthy chat with the Chilliwack Progress, Cpls. Len VanNieuwenhuizen and Nicole Delagorgendiere said the first and best thing anyone can do is tell them about an issue. “A lot of people are aware of a problem, and they assume the police know the problem’s there when we don’t,” VanNieuwenhuizen said. “There’s a lack of communication between the community and the police. We need to know a problem exists before we can act upon it.” “I’d say the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” Delagorgendiere added. That sounds a touch cavalier, but it’s not meant to be. Delagorgendiere conveys the reality of policing on a budget, and the fact that there’s only so much ‘grease’ to go around.
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The Progress
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The second time he thought something might be wrong was when Frank noticed that he was rarely seeing the same people twice. People moved into the house and moved out as fast as they came. As he lay awake in bed, listening to the sounds of late-night activity drifting in through window, his heart sank. It dawned on Frank that he was now living next to a haven for squatters, a flophouse. One day, not too long after that, he sat by his upstairs window and watched the backyard lawn finally get cut. With a weed-eater. Displaying the kind of obsessive single-minded focus he associated with heavy crystal-meth users, Frank watched someone mow every
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❖❖❖ Frank has been writing down notes and taking photos of a neighbouring problem property on Woodbine Street for years. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
square inch of lawn, in a very large backyard, in the most inefficient manner. He added that to his notes. In an effort to do something, anything, about the growing problem next door, Frank had started taking pictures and keeping a book that detailed all that he saw. At this rate, he figured he may have to start buying those notebooks in bulk. At one point, a recreational vehicle (RV) had shown up in the neighbour’s driveway. He sat by his upstairs window, pen in hand, trying to describe a tragically comical scene as barbecue tanks were precariously perched on nearby sawhorses — they were setting up a makeshift heating system, one that would never, ever pass any safety inspection.
Frank watched them burn copper wire. He saw stacks of brand-new jeans tucked behind the shed, with price tags still on them. He saw people urinating in the back yard! He lost count of how many times his sleep was disturbed by some sort of late night ruckus. In a letter to the City of Chilliwack bylaw office in July of last year, Frank spelled out the details of one particularly awful night. “A group varying from four to five individuals has set up a tent and a ‘camp’ adjacent to the garden shed of said property,” he wrote. “For all these hours (approximately 11:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.), our residents were subjected to the vagaries of foul language, alleged drug use, raised voices and public urination.”
The most jarring moment of many moments that night was the sound of a baby, whimpering amidst all that chaos. One of Frank’s neighbours, a kindly older woman, was absolutely distraught the next morning, bawling her eyes out at the thought. Police were called twice that night, at 3 and 6 a.m., but whatever they said or did proved ineffective. “As I write this I realize I have not slept since 11:30 p.m. Sunday evening,” Frank continued in his letter. “Almost 20 hours ago.” Over time, he counted 34 visits to the house by police, fire and by-law enforcement officers. Five or six times he welcomed officers into his living room, and was always impressed by their legitimate concern. But, five years after things started
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There probably isn’t a police force in existence that can handle every problem within its borders. The RCMP’s Crime Reduction Unit is small, and targets the houses that are considered the most ‘dire.’ “There is a capacity issue, and we prioritize based on frequency and severity of activity,” VanNieuwenhuizen elaborated. “We do surveil (watch) drug houses, but we have to have evidence to go to the next level with search warrants. If we feel we can do that with house A, in a timely fashion, we’ll target that house.” A search warrant is what allows police to go into a house, without warning. A handful of times last year the RCMP issued news releases about drug house busts, with people arrested and charged and drug paraphernalia seized. But, warrants are terribly difficult to get. Judges don’t view lightly the idea of police invading homes, and Continued: PROPERTIES/ p3
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The first time he thought something might be wrong, Frank was looking at the grass. “Getting pretty long,” he thought, as he looked out of his upstairs bedroom window at his neighbour’s back yard. “Looks like it’s been a while since anyone mowed it.” Not entirely surprising. The house next door had mostly been vacant since 2007, when a young family moved out. Whoever owned it now had left it empty for several months, sitting there as a ripe target for ransackers. He’d heard them skulking about, going in to strip out the copper wiring and whatever else they could find. But, Frank had noticed people moving into the place lately, and was hopeful they’d get around to some upkeep. On a bright and beautiful latespring day, the retiree went downstairs to toodle around in his backyard garden, never suspecting his idyllic existence was at an end.