City landlords can learn about troublesome tenants and other problems on their properties under a new program unveiled Wednesday by the Duluth Police Department.
By enrolling in the program, landlords will receive e-mail notifications of police calls to their properties.
"This initiative is one of our more exciting community policing projects and has the potential to have a tremendous impact," said Police Chief Gordon Ramsay. "We've been working with landlords for years in an effort to keep our neighborhoods a good place to live and we have struggled with providing them with timely information. This new system will no doubt have a positive impact on our city and will be a model for others to follow."
Police said that about 25,000 of their 80,000 calls for service each year come from rental properties.
Under the new system, landlords who sign up will receive e-mails informing them that their property generated a 911 call, what type of incident it was, and when it took place.
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"It allows [landlords] to be more effective in addressing tenant behavior." said Deputy Police Chief Mike Tusken.
Police developed the program with Omega Group Inc., a San Diego-based developer of geographic information systems used by law enforcement to monitor, analyze and forecast crime.
Tusken said some Duluth landlords live in the Twin Cities, including parents who purchase homes for their children to live in while they attend college in the Twin Ports. They, too, will be able to sign up for the program and receive reports on police calls to their property.
Blake Shippee of ShipRock Management, who manages about 700 rental units, said he believes the police initiative will benefit property owners and the city.
"It helps us have better communication with tenants to stay on top of behavior issues so that they can be addressed appropriately," Shippee said. "Too many times we deal without knowing the issues. Neighbors will complain, but we never knew there was any problem. Now we can address the problems immediately. ... I think it's an excellent program that is long overdue and I'm really happy that the police department has implemented it."
You must be the property owner or property manager to receive the notifications. So far, 38 landlords have signed up.
To learn more and to enroll, go to www.duluthmn.gov/police/CFMH/landlord_notification.pdf .
"We're excited to roll this out," Tusken said. "It's an extremely innovative approach that we think a lot of other departments will copy. This is going to help landlords manage their properties. Any time we have a well-managed property it always translates into a better quality of life in the neighborhood and reduced calls for service."
