Police will get to use seized vehicles

Drug dealers and gang-bangers rely on their own cars or trucks to deliver their illicit goods.

Now police forces across B.C. will get to use two of the vehicles seized in gang or drug trade activities to help deliver a message that crime doesn't pay.

The provincial government's Civil Forfeiture Office released details over the weekend about a new program that will offer law enforcement agencies in B.C. the chance to apply for the use of one of the two vehicles for educational purposes to warn youth about the dangers of getting involved in gangs and organized crime.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General Shirley Bond pointed to the success of a similar initiative in 2011 in which a Hummer SUV used in the Victoria drug trade was turned over to the Abbotsford Police Department. The vehicle was covered with bright decals with anti-gang messages and it was brought to schools and community events.

"I think young people appreciate the irony when they see a drug dealer's vehicle turned into something that supports police and public safety," said Bond, in a prepared statement. "The Abbotsford Police Department's approach has effectively reached local youth, using stark messages and visuals to counter gang involvement in the wake of a serious gang problem that was costing young people their lives.

"We want to see other communities benefit from similar efforts. We believe the value of loaning vehicles on an ongoing basis will far exceed what we'd get by just auctioning them off."

The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, made up of a group of Vancouver and Victoria-area law enforcement officers focused on gangs and organized crime, is the first police force approved to use of one of the seized vehicles.

To protect the integrity of the program, no police force involved in either of the vehicle's forfeiture will be eligible. Only vehicles seized in gang or drug trade activities will be used. Each agency must submit its own anti-gang strategy and business plan in its application, using local providers for insurance and decalling of the vehicle. At the end of the loan period, the vehicle will either be sold or made available to other police forces in B.C.

The province's forfeiture program began in 2006 and has resulted in the seizure of more than 100 vehicles, almost all of which are sold through online auctions open to public bidding.