The Grande Prairie Police Service’s newly established Community Standards Unit and the Grande Prairie Fire Department worked together to board up a vacant home that was posing safety concerns to the community.
Police were called to the home, located in Cobblestone, for a wellness check on March 27th, and described the interior as being in “complete disarray.”
Law enforcement says the property was no longer in the care of its owners, and there was evidence that people with “no connection” to the home had been using the building as a flop house- creating what the GPPS calls “uninhabitable conditions.”
“The presence of flop houses can result in increased criminal activity, including drug use, theft, and disturbances, which erode the sense of security that is essential for families and individuals,” GPPS Chief Dwayne Lakusta says.
After consulting with nearby residents, officers were made aware that people may have been coming and going from the home for the past several months, and there were further concerns about the activities going on in the home, which was revealed to be in foreclosure.
Later, the GPFD initiated an inspection, and the assessment was made that the level of hazards would lead to fire, injury, or death.
The home was barricaded on March 31st.
