If you think you are seeing drug sales or manufacturing in your neighborhood, here are some suggestions to address the problem. This information is based on experience gained from successful efforts solving drug house problems in Portland, Oregon.
Police
Call 9-1-1 or your police department, depending on the urgency of the immediate situation, to report incidents of danger or illegal activity. Specialty units within the police department can help with the longer-term effort of solving the problem:
- Some police departments have personnel assigned to long-term problem solving.
- Most police departments have personnel who specialize in drug case investigations.
Be patient. Suspicious activity alone does not mean the police can shut down a suspected drug house. Only after the police have gathered enough reliable information about a problem location will they be able to get a search warrant to go in and look for evidence that could lead to prosecution. This process can take months or even longer.
When reporting, it helps to provide your name and phone number. While an anonymous tip is better than none, a tip from an identifiable resident is more credible and may receive priority. The police have done a good job of keeping complainant names confidential in the past – there is little chance that providing your name to the police will expose you to danger. An anonymous tip, on the other hand, severely limits how the police can respond to your complaint.
Crime Prevention
Many communities have crime prevention specialists. They can help organize a Neighborhood Watch, teach you how to document and report illegal and suspicious activity, and advise you throughout the problem-solving process. To find out if your community has crime prevention specialists, call your city or county’s main information line, or your local law enforcement agency.
Housing Inspectors
Local governments have housing inspectors who ensure that residences are meeting minimum safety and health standards as required by law. Housing inspectors can help shut down a drug house by issuing citations and liens for violations of housing code. It is very common for drug houses to have multiple code violations. Call the local housing inspectors if you think a problem location might have housing code violations. Be sure to warn them that you think the location is a drug house so they can take proper safety precautions.
Landlords
If the suspected drug house is a rental property, you might have success if you inform the landlord. If you are having problems with their tenant, they probably are too. Your complaint may be just what they need to decide to evict the tenants, and eviction is often the fastest solution. You can find out who the landlord is by calling the county property tax assessment office.
Work with your neighbors
Your chances of eliminating a drug house are best if you work with other neighbors who are experiencing the problem activity too. Credible, valid reporting by groups of neighbors gets the best and fastest results, and reduces chances of retaliation. Contact the neighbors you feel comfortable with and set up a meeting to discuss the problem and make a plan. The crime prevention specialist in your area can help you with this effort, and help the group set up a Neighborhood Watch. A Neighborhood Watch establishes an effective communication system between neighbors so they can successfully solve problems on their street. Working together with your neighbors increases community cohesiveness and the shared sense that everyone is responsible for actively working to make the neighborhood safe.
Work with community groups
Your efforts are more likely to be successful if you work in cooperation with community groups who can lend support. Neighborhood associations, religious congregations, PTAs, social/charitable organizations and business associations are all possible sources of assistance as you respond to the problem in your area. Spend some time thinking about who your potential stakeholders and allies might be.
Document the problem and your problem-solving efforts meticulously
- Report every significant incident to the police and ask that a report be twritten, even if the authorities cannot establish that a crime was committeed. These reports help track and legitimize the problem. Ask police and crime prevention specialists for advice about what kinds of things should be reported immediately, and what kidns of things should simply be recorded in a log and turned in periodically.
- Keep a log of suspected drug activity that you observe. Regularly submit logs of observed drug activity to local police and keep copies for yourself. These logs help establish patterns of activity and who is involved, and under certain circumstances, these logs can be used to obtain search warrants. Be sure to discuss with local police whether the way you are filling out the log provides the information they most need for the particular situation.
- Keep a detailed record of every contact you make to get help, including every phone call, letter, email and meeting. Once you have established a communication link with a helpful government employee, keep it. Note the person’s name and try to contact the same person every time.
Be polite, patient and persistent
Ridding your neighborhood of illegal drug activity takes time. It can feel discouraging when “the system” doesn’t swoop in and immediately eliminate the problem. Don’t give up! These kinds of problems can be alleviated by well-organized neighbors working hand in hand with the police and other public agencies.
Look at the big picture
What are the social conditions that exist in your neighborhood or the area as a whole that contributed to the problem in the first place? It may give you a sense of well-being and greater effectriveness to tackle those issues after your immediate problem is solved. Consider volunteering at a school, treatment facility or job-training center; testifying before a City Council or County Commission; or lobbying legislators, to dedicate more dollars to enforcement, treatment and prevention.
