Ranch Motel caretaker Bryan Hall pointed to two items of interest on an open door into one of the troublesome suites in his care. One was a steel plate screwed to the door jam used to reinforce the deadbolt, and the other was a set of brackets added to barricade the door from inside.
These were clear signs that crime was going on at the motel, but Community Policing Centre co-ordinator Linda Parker said "there are problems here on every corner of the property."
She, colleague Diane Sears and RCMP Special Const. Fred Greene, a community safety officer, were invited there by Hall and a new ownership group out of the Lower Mainland to pick apart the property's features. The three were giving The Ranch Motel a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) review - a free service available to any homeowner or landlord.
The Victoria Street motel has been a hotbed of criminal activity for years, especially in the last several months. Greene pointed to a few of the key things that could be done right at the front entrance to help things out.
"That tree has to be removed, that shed should be removed, get rid of this hedge at the street and the hedges in front of the rooms," he listed.
"You want to open it up, make it bright, get some public surveillance on the place. Too much of it is hidden from view and you want people seeing what everyone is doing in here. There are too many hiding places."
One tenant, Steven Carnie, said efforts by Hall to curb the unwelcome behaviour was already working.
"There is a lot less traffic here, and things are improving," he said.
The place has a number of new surveillance cameras, police have an open invitation to come onto the property any time, and Hall was in the process of building a fence along the street. CPTED analyst Linda Parker showed him how the fence itself could become part of the problem. The boards were too close together, creating a hiding place for drug deals or assaults to occur.
"Great, thank you, if you can provide us with the benefit of your expertise that would help us a lot," Hall said. "The new owner does not want this to be a community eyesore any longer, and we want to get rid of the bad element. These drug dealers think they own the place."
Many factors play in their favour, the CPTED team showed. Trees, tall grass, hedges, lack of lighting, and a history of allowing this behaviour all contribute to the problem.
In the back alley, an area almost a tunnel through thick brush, Greene found a table mounted to the motel wall underneath a suite's back window.
A well worn path was beaten to this table. It had all the signs of being a walk-thru retail window for drug dealers.
Sears told Hall the tall grass and unruly bushes had to go, as soon as possible, just for starters.
Hall wondered if there were any not-for-profit agencies or municipal programs available to help the effort.
"There is a lot of work here, but it is responsibility of the landowner," said Parker.
Hall said this month was pivotal for The Ranch Motel, with a set of eviction notices coming into force and the full CPTED report expected by late August or early September.Check out the photo gallery under Community, Photo Galleries on the homepage.
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