Voluntary Program highlights safety and cost-saving benefits
By SDUN Staff
Hundreds of law enforcement professionals from the United States and Canada gathered in Mission Valley last week to learn more about an innovative crimeprevention program designed to help keep illegal activity off rental properties in their communities.
The program, known as Crime Free Multi-Housing (CFMH), is the focus of the 13th Annual International Crime Free Conference held at the Handlery Hotel in Mission Valley.
A year ago this week, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance requiring the owners of “nuisance properties” to participate in the CFMH program. The ordinance defines a nuisance property as one that generates at least 10 police calls for service within a 90-day period, or one with a crime rate that is at least 25 percent higher than similar rental properties in the same area.
“Nuisance properties have a negative impact well beyond the immediate neighborhood. [They] affect all of us regardless of how many blocks or miles we live from the problem property,” said San Diego County Sheriff William Gore. “When law enforcement and fire departments constantly respond to a nuisance property, they are unavailable elsewhere in our community.”
Only a handful of properties in San Diego County have been mandated to participate in the program
in the last year. Most owners and managers enter the program voluntarily and attend specialized workshops where they receive tools to help them identify and avoid problems before they occur on their properties, as well as strategies to deal more effectively with the crime and nuisance issues that arise.
No nuisance properties have been identified in the Uptown area because the City of San Diego has not mandated any apartment complexes to participate in the program.
Apartment managers who attended the conference learned how to pre-screen residents and use crime-free lease addendums to hold residents, family members and their guests responsible for their actions on the property. Management can refer to such addendums if they need to take legal action against residents who violate criminal or civil laws.
Police officers and crime prevention specialists were also on hand to inspect properties with the managers to help them identify and address safety conditions, including damaged windows, broken locks, inadequate lighting and overgrown trees and shrubs that deter visibility around complexes.
The City of El Cajon, which has more than 900 apartment buildings, hosted the International Crime Free Conference. It was one of the first local municipalities to enter the crime-free program in 1997.
Between 1997 and 2009, violent crime in El Cajon dropped more than 54 percent and property crime fell 53 percent at properties participating in the crime-free program, according to El Cajon’s Crime Analysis Unit.
El Cajon Police Chief Pat Sprecco credits the success to his officers and crime-prevention specialists
who have forged strong relationships with apartment owners and managers.
“Before joining the crime free program, the rental properties in question were averaging nine calls for service each month. After entering the program, and receiving training and working closely with police and residents, calls for service dropped 55 percent on average,” said Sprecco.
As part of the crime-free program, apartment managers, residents and police hold regular meetings to ensure residents feel ownership in their apartment buildings. Eventually, the residents become the eyes and ears of law enforcement because they have more knowledge about safety and security techniques.
“In many of these apartment communities, we’ve seen a drastic change in the mindset of these tenants who are now eager to report problems to their managers and work together to solve those issues,” said Tim Zehring, the executive director of the International Crime Free Association. “Neighbors who were once afraid to report crime are now part of an active network in their community where information sharing is the norm, not the exception.”
