All eight (8) of the candidates for Mayor have all come up with basically the same anti-crime plan to bring down our crime rates:

1. Replace the chief and perhaps the command staff
2. Increase funding to APD and the number of police officers from 850 to 1,200
3. Return to community based policing
4. Complete the Department of Justice Reform mandated by the consent decree

There really is nothing novel or new with anything that is being proposed by any of the candidates and it all relates to our criminal justice system.

The anti-crime platforms of all the candidates will take years to accomplish and even if implemented, the anti-crime plans may still not bring crime rates down.

What is ignored or at least forgotten by all eight of the candidates is that the City does in fact have any number of civil remedies to combat crime, but they are not being utilized and have been all but abandoned during the last eight (8) years.

The city effectively used civil remedies from 2002 to 2009 that cleaned up our neighborhoods, made neighborhoods safer and helped bring crime down.

Currently, there are thousands of vacant or abandoned residential and commercial properties in Albuquerque that have become magnets for crime.

Something can be done immediately as the first step to reducing our crime rates and it involves civil remedies available to the City using existing resources.

SAFE CITY STRIKE FORCE

In 2002, the Safe City Strike Force was formed to combat blighted commercial and residential properties.

Thirty (30) to forty-five (40) representatives from the Albuquerque Police Department, the Albuquerque Fire Department, the Fire Marshal’s Office, the Planning Department Code residential and commercial code inspectors, Family Community Services and the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office participated comprised the strike force.

Seventy (70) to one hundred fifty (150) properties a week, both residential and commercial properties would be reviewed by the Strike Force.

The Safe City Strike Force would handle referrals from the general public, neighborhood associations, the Mayor and the Albuquerque City Council.

The Albuquerque City Council would be given weekly updates on the progress made in their districts on the nuisance properties found.

The Safe City Strike Force routinely prepared condemnation resolutions for enactment by the Albuquerque City Council to tear down substandard buildings.

I estimate in the 8 years I was Director of the Strike Force we took civil enforcement action against some 6,500 properties, both commercial and residential.

COSTS TO COMBAT MAGNETS FOR CRIME

Crime rates can be brought down with civil nuisance abatement actions.

The Safe City Strike Force took civil action against substandard properties that had become magnets for crime.

A magnet for crime property is one that has an extensive history of calls for service to the Albuquerque Police Department and where crime occurs.

Residential and commercial properties used for prostitution and drug activity such as meth labs and crack houses are examples of magnets for crime.

A review of the total number of calls for service a year is what is used in part to determine if a property is a public nuisance or a nuisance under city ordinances.

Calls for service to the Albuquerque Police Department to deal with properties that have become “magnets for crime” result in a drain on police resources and costs millions of dollars a year in taxpayer funds.

The average cost of a call for service to dispatch police officers to handle such minor calls as suspicious persons, loitering, loud parties and loud music cost taxpayers between $75 to $150 per call depending on the time spent on the call by police officers dispatched.

The Albuquerque Police Department handles anywhere from 600,000 to 750,000 calls for service per year consisting of priority 1, 2 and 3 calls made to the 911 emergency operations center.

BLIGHTED PROPERTIES

The most effective approach to address blighted properties is to initiate civil complaints and secure temporary restraining orders, preliminary and permanent injunctions.

As a Deputy City Attorney, I sought court orders to compel property owners to bring their properties into compliance with city ordinances, codes and state laws.

I routinely filed District Court civil complaints for injunctive relief or negotiated stipulated settlement agreements to abate nuisance properties.

Frequently, we would do interventions and met with property owners to negotiate stipulated settlements.

The Safe City Strike Force required slum lords to make repairs to their properties so that the properties could be occupied safely without exposure or threat of injury.

During my eight (8) years as Director of the Safe City Strike Force, I saw way too many slum lords charging top dollar to rent their properties to some of our poorest citizens with the landlords refusing to make repairs when needed, even when health and safety was an issue for the tenants.

Some of the more egregious instances where property owners refused to make costly repairs and where health and safety involved heating and air condition systems that broke down during peak usage times by the tenants.

The goal was always to try to work with the property owners and negotiates stipulated settlement agreements with them, either for repairs or voluntary tear downs.

TEARDOWNS AND BOARD UPS

The Safe City Strike Force was responsible for the tear down of an entire residential block of homes located at 5th Street and Summer in the Wells Park neighborhood area located north of downtown Albuquerque.

There were a total of 21 abandoned and vacant, boarded up properties that could not be repaired, owned by one elderly woman who agreed allowed a tear down of the structures by the City.

As Director of the Safe City Strike Force, I negotiated a voluntary tear down of an entire strip mall that had been boarded up for years, beyond repair, located near the former Octopus Car Wash on Menaul Street and Eubank.

The strip mall was constantly being broken into, with fires being set by the homeless, and at one time a dead body was found at the location.

Two long vacant and vandalized restaurants, the Purple Plum and a Furr’s cafeteria, both on far North-East heights Montgomery, were torn down by the Safe City Strike Force.

One year, Albuquerque experienced a huge spike in meth labs where almost 90 meth labs were found and identified and where the Safe City Strike Force was asked for assistance with contamination clean up.

CENTRAL MOTELS

The Safe City Strike Force required commercial property and motel owners to make repairs and they were required to reduce calls for service and address security on their properties.

The Safe City Strike Force took code enforcement action against 48 of the 150 motels along central and forced compliance with building codes and mandated repairs to the properties.

The Central motels that were demolished were not designated historical and were beyond repair as a result of years of neglect and failure to maintain and make improvements.

Central motels that had historical significance to Route 66 were purchased by the City for renovation and redevelopment.

The Central motels that the Safe City Strike Force took action against include the Gaslight (demolished), The Zia Motel (demolished), The Royal Inn (demolished), Route 66 (demolished), the Aztec Motel (demolished), the Hacienda, Cibola Court, Super-8 (renovated by owner), the Travel Inn (renovated by owner), Nob Hill Motel (renovated by owner), the Premier Motel (renovated by owner) the De Anza (purchased by City for historical significance), the No Name, the Canyon Road (demolished), Hill Top Lodge, American Inn (demolished), the El Vado (purchased by City for historical significance), the Interstate Inn (demolished).

The Safe City Strike Force was responsible for the demolition of at least seven (7) blighted motels that were beyond repair.

When people were displaced by enforcement actions taken by the Safe City Strike Force, the City’s Family and Community Services Department would provide vouchers to the displaced and assist in locating temporary housing for them.

VIOLENT BARS

The Safe City Strike Force took action against violent bars on Central that were magnets for crime.

Many Central bars have hundreds of calls for service a year placing a drain on law enforcement resources.

A few of the bars located on or near Central that were closed or torn down by the Safe City Strike Force include the Blue Spruce Bar, Rusty’s Cork and Bottle, the Last Chance Bar and Grill and Club 7.

The Safe City Strike Force closed Club 7 and the owner was convicted of commercial code violations.

As a Deputy City Attorney, I was co counsel with the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office and brought charges against and convicted the Club 7 downtown Central Avenue bar owner that hosted a “rave” that allowed under age participants to mingle with adults and where a young girl was killed.

CONVENIENCE STORES

The Safe City Strike Force took enforcement action against a number of convenience stores on Central that had substantial calls for service to APD.

In 2005, The Safe City Strike Force identified convenience stores that had an unacceptable number of “calls for service” which resulted in the convenience stores being considered a public nuisance by the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).

Outdoor phones at the convenience stores used for illicit drug transactions were identified.

APD felt the convenience stores were relying upon APD to provide security at taxpayer’s expense rather than hiring their own private security company.

In 2005, as Director of the Safe City Strike Force, I was able to negotiate a stipulated settlement agreement with three major convenience store corporate owners of seventeen (17) convenience stores throughout Albuquerque and they agreed to pay for private security patrols.

FLEA MARKETS

The Safe City Strike Force was responsible for the closure of Louie’s Flea Market and the Star Flea Market, two Westside flea markets both on Old Coors Road South of Central.

Area residents felt the flea markets brought down property values.

Both flea markets had been around for decades and caused extreme traffic congestion on weekends they operated causing problems for the established or developing residential areas.

Both flea markets were found by the Albuquerque Police Department to be locations where stolen property was being sold and both had an excessive number of calls for service.

Neighbors of both markets said they would go to the flea markets and would find property stolen from their homes days before being sold.

HOARDERS

Some of the most tragic and heart breaking cases that the Safe City Strike Force dealt with involved “hoarders”.

Hoarding is a pattern of behavior that is characterized by excessive acquisition and an inability or unwillingness to discard large quantities of objects or animals that cover the entire living areas or exterior of a home or property.

The Strike Force dealt with approximately 10 cases of hoarders.

One hoarder case I vividly recall involved an elderly woman who was housing over 60 cats in her 1,200 square foot, three bedrooms home. The home was not fit to be lived in as a result of contamination by the animals. Dead cats were found in her freezer.

The City removed the cats, cleaned up the property and placed a $40,000 lien on the home for the cleanup of the contamination.

Another hoarder had accumulated an extensive amount of items in his front and backyards to the extent that the area had become rat infested and the City forced a cleanup of the area.

CIVIL REMEDY FOR GRAFFITI VANDALISM

The increase in graffiti across Albuquerque is a damn shame and preventable.

Over ten (10) years ago, the City had a handle on it and reduced graffiti significantly.

In order to combat graffiti vandalism, the Safe City Strike Force initiated civil lawsuits against the vandals and their parents.

Over 120 civil lawsuits against well over 300 taggers and their parents to collect damages to City property and for the graffiti cleanup costs were files.

Close to $230,000 in restitution from the taggers was collected and the vandalism was reduced.

The City is spending close to $3 million dollars a year to clean up graffiti.

IT TAKES COMMITMENT

For the last eight (8) years, little or next to nothing has been done by the City of Albuquerque to address blighted and substandard commercial and residential properties.

There is a lack of commitment by city hall to properly fund a program that was recognized as a best practice by municipalities throughout the country.

The City of Albuquerque was safer and cleaner because of the work of the Safe City Strike Force.

Today, the Safe City Strike Force has one employee, its director, and the Safe City Strike Force exists in name only.

It has pained me to realize that eight years of success by the Safe City Strike Force is now totally wiped out and gone.

It pains me to know that all the accomplishments progress and the work to clean up Central and the City of Albuquerque and its neighborhoods has vanished.