Crime Free Multi-Housing Apartment
Crime Prevention Program
by Chris E McGoey, CPP, CSP, CAM
from crimedoctor.com
The Crime Free Multi-Housing Program is a state-of-the-art crime
prevention program designed to reduce crime, drugs, and gang
activity on apartment properties. This program was first successfully
developed at the Mesa, Arizona Police Department in 1992. The
International Crime Free Programs have since spread to nearly
2,000 cities in 44 US states, 5 Canadian Provinces, Mexico,
england, Finland, Japan, Russia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Afganistan,
and Puerto Rico. Australia has also expressed interest in adopting
the Crime Free Programs in the future. Three Certification
Phases
The program consists of three phases that must be completed
under the supervision of the local law enforcement agency.
Property managers become individually certified after completing
phase-one training. The property itself becomes certified
upon successful completion of all three phases. The anticipated
benefits are reduced police calls for service, a more stable
resident base, and reduced exposure to civil liability.
The program begins with the training of police agency coordinators
who will administer the program in their jurisdiction. Each
Crime Free Multi-Housing Coordinator receives 24-hours of
intensive training and becomes certified as an instructor
of the program. The Crime Free Program Coordinators return
to their cities and begin the provide training and certify
apartment managers and properties in their community. Fully
certified properties have reported reductions in police calls
for service up to 70% over previous years. The heart and soul
of the program is in the correct implementation and use of
the Crime Free Lease Addendum.
Here is a brief outline of the program contents:
Phase I - Management Training (8-Hours) Taught by
the Police
Crime Prevention Theory
CPTED Theory
New Resident Screening
Lease Agreement Issues
Crime Free Lease Addendum
Key Control and Master Key Use
On-Going Security Management
Monitoring Criminal Activity
Gangs, Drugs, and Crime Prevention
Legal Warnings & Evictions
Working With the Police
Community Awareness
Phase II - CPTED - Survey by the Police
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Survey (CPTED)
Minimum door, window, and lock standards compliance
Minimum exterior lighting standards evaluation
Key Control procedures evaluation
Landscape maintenance standards compliance
Phase III - Community Awareness Training
Annual crime prevention social taught by property management
and police
Community awareness and continuous participation is encouraged
Full certification permits the right to post the Crime Free
program sign and advertise membership in the Crime Free Multi-Housing
Program in the print media using the official logo.
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