Housing crime prevention program unveiled

Cape Girardeau police will begin implementation of a crime prevention program later this month to keep illegal and nuisance activity off rental property.

The Crime Free Multi-Housing Program is a three-phase, international initiative seeking to help apartment owners, residents, police and other agencies work together to combat crime, police said.

Police Chief Wes Blair announced last November it would adopt the program to reduce violent crime.

Police plan to first reach out to rental property owners and managers at a workshop, scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 25 in the community room at the police station.

Cpl. Richard Couch, coordinator of the new program, said Wednesday police already have "a great relationship" with the Cape Area Landlord Association.

He said an attorney is scheduled to attend the first meeting to help educate landlords and property managers on tenant laws.

Couch said the session will be the first of several workshops designed to help landlords better manage their properties, including how to more effectively screen prospective tenants.

Those wishing to participate should contact the police department, Couch said.

In the second phase of the voluntary program, Couch will conduct security assessments of rental housing at the request of landlords and property managers and make recommendations on how to make their properties safer from crime.

Couch said recommendations could include additional lighting and even trimming of foliage to eliminate criminal hiding places.

Such improvements "may pay dividends in the long run" by reducing and preventing crime, he said.

Apartments must meet the minimum safety requirements in order to be certified under the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program.

The third phase involves training tenants.

Landlords or property managers would hold "safety socials" for residents of their rental units. Residents would receive training on crime-prevention techniques and how to work together with owners, managers, police and fellow residents to achieve safer rental communities, according to a program newsletter provided by police.

"That is extremely important for property owners and tenants to come together," Couch said.

The program amounts to "kind of a zero tolerance" for criminal activity in rental housing areas, he said.

Once all three phases have been completed, property owners will be able to display signs advertising their rental housing as program-certified, Couch said.

He estimated it could take three to six months before the first rental properties receive certification.

Couch said the program, founded in 1992 by the Mesa Police Department in Mesa, Arizona, has created safer apartment communities.

The program has spread to nearly 2,000 cities in 48 states and several foreign countries, according to the program's website.

Certified properties have shown about a 60 percent reduction in crime, Couch said. "This type of result is why the Cape Girardeau Police Department has adopted this program and offers it as a community service to rental property owners," according to the newsletter.

David Soto, whose company manages rental property, welcomed the program. "I hope a lot of landlords will sign up for this," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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