[Newsbot]

Title: Vancouver building seized without any charges against owner
Category: Law & Order
Posted By: DrCaleb
Date: 2014-03-20 07:47:45
Canadian

[martin14]

dammit doc, copy/paste the text pls.

getting tired of the Globe blocking my ass.

[BeaverFever]

clear cookies should do the trick as I've learned

[DrCaleb]

martin14 martin14:

dammit doc, copy/paste the text pls.

getting tired of the Globe blocking my ass.

Can't post it all, that's plagiarism.

$1:

British Columbia’s Civil Forfeiture Office has seized and sold a Downtown Eastside single-room occupancy hotel for more than $800,000 – despite the fact the building’s owner was not charged with a crime.

The Vancouver Police Department, which investigated the file and referred it to the Civil Forfeiture Office, announced the seizure at a news conference Wednesday.
More Related to this Story

Sergeant Randy Fincham, a police spokesman, said four people were arrested as a result of the Project Twizzler investigation and charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking. Sgt. Fincham alleged the four men were running a drug ring out of the single-room occupancy hotel and used intimidation and violence – including head-shavings – to get area residents to sell drugs.

Sgt. Fincham said charges were not laid against the building manager or the owner, but they “ought to have known that what was going on was criminal activity.” He said some suites had been “fortified” and a security system set up.

The police spokesman noted the civil forfeiture process is distinct from the criminal justice process and has a lower burden of proof.

Firefox and the NoScript plugin also work so they can't set cookies to disable viewing.

[DrCaleb]

martin14 martin14:

getting tired of the Globe blocking my ass.

Remember that too when people complain about using the CBC for news. It doesn't block.

[andyt]

How is this news? SOP these days. They seized an old guy's stamp collection because pot was grown on the property where he rents a cabin. Just as in the states, what was a good law to fight gangsters turns into a money grab of innocent people who can't afford to hire a lawyer. (Haven't read the story).

[commanderkai]

OH! So building owners and managers should, according to the police officer "ought to have known that what was going on was criminal activity"? OH OKAY, so, I can kick out tenants whenever I suspect them of using my property for criminal activity? No? I can't? I could have another government body come down on my ass because either I don't have concrete proof, or violated their private space because I discovered their illegal activity by entering their rented/leased space?

Oh and if I called to complain about illegal activity, or a tenant not abiding by the eviction order? Yep, no police officer in sight, and the sheriff might be around in 3-6 months, depends on if his balls are itchy or not.

Yeah, they can go fuck themselves. After I exhaust legal options, I'd burn the fucking building down because fuck them and their thievery.

[rickc]

This story totally blows! Various parts of Vancouver are nothing but a huge open air drug market, quite possibly the largest in North America. Where are the police? They don't give a rats ass when some out of control druggie is getting stoned, shooting up, smoking up in public, or harassing tourists for money for their next fix. Soon as there is some money to be made for the Vancouver PD by shaking down innocent landlords, or business owners, than illegal narcotics use is a very big deal that must be dealt with. The hypocrisy is unbelievable! No police department in North America does less about drug use than Vancouver. If that's the type of environment you want to have, fine. I do not have a problem with that. But don't turn a blind eye to drug use and allow it to flourish in your city, and then prosecute business owners{ who are the real victims of the lax (almost non existent) enforcement of drug laws} for not doing the job that the police have failed to do. Total bullshit!!!

[stratos]

martin14 martin14:

dammit doc, copy/paste the text pls.

getting tired of the Globe blocking my ass.

Is that why your typing comes out sounding constipated?






Sorry Martin I couldn't resist.

[Hyack]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

martin14 martin14:

dammit doc, copy/paste the text pls.

getting tired of the Globe blocking my ass.

Can't post it all, that's plagiarism.

$1:

British Columbia’s Civil Forfeiture Office has seized and sold a Downtown Eastside single-room occupancy hotel for more than $800,000 – despite the fact the building’s owner was not charged with a crime.

The Vancouver Police Department, which investigated the file and referred it to the Civil Forfeiture Office, announced the seizure at a news conference Wednesday.
More Related to this Story

Sergeant Randy Fincham, a police spokesman, said four people were arrested as a result of the Project Twizzler investigation and charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking. Sgt. Fincham alleged the four men were running a drug ring out of the single-room occupancy hotel and used intimidation and violence – including head-shavings – to get area residents to sell drugs.

Sgt. Fincham said charges were not laid against the building manager or the owner, but they “ought to have known that what was going on was criminal activity.” He said some suites had been “fortified” and a security system set up.

The police spokesman noted the civil forfeiture process is distinct from the criminal justice process and has a lower burden of proof.

Firefox and the NoScript plugin also work so they can't set cookies to disable viewing.

More...

$1:

The Globe and Mail earlier this year published a months-long investigation of the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office. The office was created in 2006 to fight organized crime but now has a wider reach, and questions have been raised about fairness, public interest and transparency. Eight of 10 provinces have civil-forfeiture programs, but B.C. has been among the most aggressive in pursuing property and cash. Ninety-nine per cent of the people it targets settle on terms favourable to the office.

Three B.C. Liberal caucus members, the province's Official Opposition and a former Liberal attorney-general have said the Civil Forfeiture Act should be reviewed. Justice Minister Suzanne Anton, however, has said a review is unnecessary.

The Civil Forfeiture Office does not need charges or a conviction to take on a case, and critics have said most people cannot afford to fight back, even in situations in which a landlord does not know what a tenant is up to.

Josh Paterson, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said the case announced Wednesday “underlines the whole problem with the civil forfeiture regime.” He said it’s “fundamentally unfair” that people who have been neither charged nor convicted can have property seized.

The building is located in the 600-block of Alexander Street. A notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court by the director of civil forfeiture said the building was owned by a company known as 658 Alexander Street Ltd. The court document identified C. Hugh Maddin as the company’s director.

Mr. Maddin’s voicemail box was full and he could not be reached for comment Wednesday. His lawyer did not return a message.

[Freakinoldguy]

commanderkai commanderkai:

OH! So building owners and managers should, according to the police officer "ought to have known that what was going on was criminal activity"? OH OKAY, so, I can kick out tenants whenever I suspect them of using my property for criminal activity? No? I can't? I could have another government body come down on my ass because either I don't have concrete proof, or violated their private space because I discovered their illegal activity by entering their rented/leased space?

Oh and if I called to complain about illegal activity, or a tenant not abiding by the eviction order? Yep, no police officer in sight, and the sheriff might be around in 3-6 months, depends on if his balls are itchy or not.

Yeah, they can go fuck themselves. After I exhaust legal options, I'd burn the fucking building down because fuck them and their thievery.

If anyone tells you this is about fighting crime send them my way because I've got a bridge for sale, cheap. It's just another typical day for the Liberal Party of BC who are using a twisted version of the law they introduced so they can screw even more people over and garner more money for their bottomless coffers.

[Benn]

This is not a BC only, other provinces have the same type of process and use it just a unethically.

I have a relative who works in the area of forfeiture and based on what I hear and she tells me this should trouble people more than it seems to be. Way way to easy for misuse. Things like this should required conviction in court not guilty until proven innocent, and then we're still taking your stuff. This comes simply now as a money maker for provinces and a lazy way to fight crime, just in some cases no crimes are proven even.

[Zipperfish]

BC is raking in far more money than other provinces though. They've turned it into a real cash cow.

[Benn]

The whole process needs to be nixed under a charter challenge. Then the province sued for reimbursement.

[Freakinoldguy]

Benn Benn:

The whole process needs to be nixed under a charter challenge. Then the province sued for reimbursement.

It is under a Charter Challenge, amazingly enough by those champions of free trade and fair play. The Hell's Angels, Nanaimo Chapter.

They had their clubhouse confiscated under this antiquated and unjust law even though the Gov't couldn't prove any criminal activities actually took place there.

Hell the Gov't couldn't even prove the chapter members were involved or convicted in Criminal Activities. So, once again I will reiterate that this is nothing more than a criminal enterprise cloaked in the guise of fighting crime.

FFS BC Residents don't forget to pay any outstanding fines or fees because this crowd of assholes would have no problem taking your home, car, wife and kids if it meant they could make a buck from them.