Anti-Crime Program Will Train Apartment Owners

The Police Department wants to enlist apartment owners and managers in the fight against crime.

The City Council on Tuesday approved a three-step program in which apartment owners and managers will be trained by police to prevent and report crime, and the apartments will be certified as “Crime-Free Multi-Housing” complexes.

Officer Gregg Peterson said the managers and owners would attend an eight-hour class to learn such basics as “recognizing the bad element.” Their buildings would then be required to meet certain safety standards, such as proper lighting and deadbolts on doors.

To complete the program and earn the certificate, which could be used in advertising, the apartment owners and managers would hold meetings with tenants to spread the crime-prevention message, Peterson said.