5 Property Management Tips to Help Make Apartments Safe and Secure via Property Management Insider

Did you miss National Crime Prevention Month in October? How about National Night Out in August?

Those annual events are good reminders that crime is a serious subject, and apartment complexes are certainly not immune from criminal activity. In recent years, law enforcement agencies from Orlando, Fla., to Farmers Branch, Tex., have implemented crime prevention programs – and even mandates – aimed at multihousing property owners.

Last year, the City of Farmers Branch enacted its Mandatory Crime Reduction Program (MCRP) for apartment complexes that have high incidents of criminal activities. Apartment complexes that exceed a specific statistical crime-risk threshold, which is calculated every six months by the police department, are enrolled in MCRP.

Once in MCRP, the complex owner/management team is issued a laundry list of mandates aimed at all tenants – including adding crime free lease agreement addendums, running criminal history checks, conducting credit checks, hosting quarterly crime watch meetings and meeting other crime reduction requirements designed to address the complex’s specific crime problems, as specified by crime prevention officers.

Also, the City of Orlando certified seven apartment complexes in the city “crime-free” as part of program to clean up crime early last year. Residents who get arrested for violent crimes are evicted under the program, which began in 2010. To be deemed “crime-free,” an apartment complex must meet a number of security measures, including enhanced lighting, cameras and safe entryways.

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