caption: One of many abandoned houses in Camden hit by the foreclosure crisis. Photo by Donna Seline.
Vacant and abandoned homes can be found throughout our neighborhoods. While some blocks in Camden have not seen any, there are other parts of the community where boarded buildings and abandoned homes are far too common. Much has been said of the financial toll these properties take on our neighborhood, but there has been less attention paid to their crime and public safety impact.
Vacant and abandoned homes are prime targets for copper theft and other forms of burglary. The scrap value of copper and other metals has risen dramatically in the past year or so, creating a huge incentive for thieves. Unfortunately, copper thieves aren’t always careful when it comes to cutting pipe and they sometimes damage gas lines within the houses, creating a significant public safety risk to the neighborhood. On more than one occasion, officers have responded to burglary calls in abandoned buildings only to be confronted with the strong odor of natural gas. This poses an extreme hazard not only to the responding officers, but to surrounding homes as well.
Abandoned homes attract other sorts of criminal and undesirable activity as well. They are sometimes used for prostitution and drug activities. One trend that we see is people holding “after hours” parties in vacant homes. Once these party “promoters” find a vacant house they’ll advertise the party at various night clubs in town, set up a cash bar in the house and charge people a cover charge to get in. These parties begin after bars close at 2 a.m. and can attract literally hundreds of people. Given the mix of alcohol, drugs and weapons at these events, the potential for violence is substantial.
Monitoring and taking care of vacant and abandoned properties is an enormous job. Minneapolis is asking for the community’s help ensuring that these homes don’t become problems. Consider “adopting” a vacant home on your block. The City of Minneapolis suggests the following steps that you can take:
• If you see someone inside or around a vacant property, call 911. Take care not to confront someone who is trespassing or living temporarily in a vacant property.
• Report a property that is open to trespass (including one that has not yet been boarded), or if you observe anything on the property that could be a health or safety issue by calling 311.
• Check on a vacant property occasionally to ensure doors and windows are closed and that the building is not open to trespass.
• You may maintain the public space—sidewalks and alleys—around vacant properties. As long as you stay on public space, it’s all right to shovel snow, rake leaves, and pick up or remove flyers and litter.
Remember if you do maintain a property, it’s not OK to dig, climb on a building, enter a building or make improvements to vacant property before you have written consent from the property owner.
If your block has a property with an ongoing problem, call your Crime Prevention Specialist at the 4th Police Precinct. They can work with you to resolve a variety of “problem property” issues.
A little attention and care for the neglected properties in our neighborhoods can go a long way toward preventing more serious problems later on.