Crime in Neighborhood

Calling the police when there is suspicious activity is a very good method.
Block Watch is a good help.

Security patrols are very expensive. If you go that route, I recommend that one board member interview about 7 companies on the telephone and ask details of how they charge. Then select about three of the more reasonable companies and iterview them in person, not at a board meeting. Ride the community with them, and ask them lots of questions. You'll have more questions to ask each time you talk to one.

You will pay for one, two or three patrols per night, and it doesn't take long for the bad actors to know that when the patrol passes, that they will not be back for a given amount of time. They'll also figure out when the last patrol is.

It's expensive and may or not be helpful. That's for you and the board to decide. You may even want to try it for a few months to see what happens.

Read their contract very carefully. Some will have the Association indemnify them for their negligence. If you sign a contract like that, your insurance underwriter may cancel your insurance.

So read the contract and send any questionable clauses to your insurance agent and ask if that language is acceptable to the undewriter. If you go with that patrol company, get a letter from the underwriter that they accept the language of the contract.

Good luck

Hi Alan:

Neighborhood watch is a good step, sometimes it is very helpful, but not always. Getting people to call the police can be the hardest part.

One valuable tool: publicize the local police &/or sheriff's non-emergency dispatch; when people see something that's not quite a 911 call but need to report, that's a valuable number to have available.

Ask members to keep track of suspicious activity - a written log is a great help to law enforcement. Keep track of license plates where people are visitng suspected drug houses. Be aware of the typical signs of a meth lab (sights & smells). Teach members to be discreet, since drug activities often are accompanied by guns.

Encourage people to sign up for security service (alarm monitoring) and to have alarms put into cars. Take reasonable precautions such as double-lock deadbolts, etc. - your local crime prevention officer can probably give many tips on staying safe.

Gated communities often have a safer "feel" to them; but I don't know any statistics on how they fare, crime-wise, vs. non-gated communities. Be aware that your state laws may not allow cameras on public street areas (can't do that in Oregon). Fake cameras, however, may be allowed and some people believe that they are a deterrent.

Good luck!

J. Patrick Moore, CMCA