RPD Provides Training for Property Owners, Managers

REDLANDS>> The Redlands Police Department held an eight-hour training class for multi-unit rental apartment managers/owners and single-family rental property owners on Wednesday, Oct 26 at the Redlands Community Center. The program focused on education and reducing crime in apartments, condominium complexes and single-family rental housing throughout the city. The five-phase Crime-Free Multi-Housing Program focuses on community-oriented crime prevention by emphasizing communication with property managers, tenants and police. Since 1995, the Redlands Police Department has participated in the San Bernardino County Crime-Free Multi-Housing Program. Phase 1 is a one-day workshop that introduces the program, classroom instruction on a crime-free rental addendum, eviction process, tenant screening, property management, Fair Housing issues, gangs, graffiti and narcotics identification. Classroom presentations will be by professionals in that field. In Phase 2, police officers conduct a security assessment of the apartment complexes, called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), which helps managers identify ways to make their complexes safer for tenants. Completion of Phases 1 and 2 allows managers to begin Phase 3, ordering and posting signs denoting their apartment complexes as crime-free. In Phase 4 of the program, Redlands Police officers will schedule tenant/manager meetings at participating complexes. Residents will be given information about local crime trends and crime prevention techniques. Phase 5 certifies the complex as crime-free. Crime-Free Multi-Housing participants have seen a reduction in calls for service and a reinforced partnership with the community. The Redlands Police Department holds two Crime-Free Multi-Housing workshops per year, one in the spring and the other in the fall.