Problem
Problematic Behavior Or Activity
There is an ongoing issue with college parties causing disturbances in neighborhoods where college students and permanent residents cohabit. The parties lead to loud music, yelling and screaming, littering, fights, vandalism and other nuisance crimes. Citing the offending parties provides a temporary solution and does not create permanent changes in behavior. Additionally, warning offending parties was not tracked with any standardization, which led to multiple warnings being issued to chronic offenders. A mechanism was needed to go above and beyond normal enforcement and to create a way to more effectively keep track of repeated responses.
The quality of life in the neighborhoods surrounding campus was declining. Residents were becoming more vocal and outspoken about issues. The residents began to involve the Corvallis City Council and demand additional actions be taken to mitigate the problems.
Solution
Program Description
The Special Response Fee Notice (SRN) allows for the addition of civil penalties for multiple responses to a residence for specific criminal offenses in a set time frame. If more than one police response occurs within the time frame a civil penalty can be incurred by the residents present. Penalties can be retroactive to include the initial police response and any subsequent responses. Penalties can include the costs incurred by the city for the response (i.e. Police, Dispatch, Fire/EMT).
Funding
Minimal costs for printing of documents and some personnel hours for creation and data tracking of the program.
Outcome
Program Impact
Offenders were faced with multiple consequences for the first time. Not only could they be criminally cited but also civilly fined and receive pressure from their landlords to stop the behavior. Many landlords have included the SRN program in the rental agreements, stating repeated violations of the program can lead to eviction. We have seen a drastic decline in repeat offenders after the implementation and adjustments of the time period.
Critical Success Factors
Partnerships with landlords and other community organizations. Multiple consequences for repeated criminal behavior from various outlets. Offenders receive documentation for the incident, which is tracked by the agency.
Lessons Learned
Get the property owners and managers on board from the start and provide them with a way of getting the information about SRN houses in a timely manner.
Additional Documents