Irving PD Credits Historic Crime Drop With Reduction Program
IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - The Irving Police Department announced Monday that its 2010 crime rate reached an all-time low after falling 8.4 percent.
The city's crime rate hasn't had an increase since 2003, and each of the past four years marked record lows. This year, robbery decreased 22.3 percent; auto theft fell 21.9 percent; there was a 15.6 percent decrease in burglaries; and burglaries of motor vehicles dropped 11.3 percent.
Police credit a heavy portion of the continued reduction in crime to their efforts at apartment complexes; many of which log nearly half of the city's crimes, officials said. In April, the management company that runs the Woodchase Apartments in the 4000 block of North Beltline either had to drop its crime rate or faced being shut down.
"It's kind of, like, you scratch my back, I scratch your back," said Tabitha Hester, a spokeswoman for Carrollton-based Pacific West Management.
The police department forced the company to enroll in a mandatory crime reduction program. It worked: The ordinance forces apartment complexes with high crime rates to enroll at a cost of $250.
"Whenever we have an issue, we have this relationship with the Irving Police Department and we get full cooperation," Hester said.
Crime dropped at the Woodchase Apartments, and Pacific West Management was released from the program in July, just three months after it enrolled.
However, though tenants say they've seen some improvement, they'd also like to see more done to make their complex safer.
"I've had my window broken out a couple of times and a friend of mine had his window broken out," said tenant Adrian Franklin.
Another tenant, Christina Brown, said she sees "kids coming through here, vandalizing cars and breaking into apartments."
Under the program, landlords are required to add security lights, repair faulty fences and trim trees and bushes for increased visibility. Irving's ordinance also mandates that landlords in the program must conduct criminal background checks on their tenants. And though some tenants report isolated incidents, the city's police chief maintains that the program works.
"When you think about it, it makes logical sense: There are a high volume of cars in a small area," said Irving Police Chief Larry Boyd. "There are a lot of people living in a small area and people can be anonymous in apartment communities."
Dallas, Farmers Branch and Houston have similar ordinances in place for crime-infested apartment complexes.
"Our focus on multi-family communities over the last few years has really paid dividends for us," Boyd said.
