Vacant homes to cops for free... (2009, foreclosure, crime)

[DPAT]

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Seems like an interesting idea to me... what do you think?

[Merin]

Great idea, especially since they are so underpaid.

[Noc]

That does sound like a great idea.

[BobKovacs]

Great idea, but I doubt the banks are going to go for it- why should they give the home to a cop and lose all of the proceeds from the sale, rather than selling it for some fraction of it's worth and getting something instead of nothing?

[goozer]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Great idea, but I doubt the banks are going to go for it- why should they give the home to a cop and lose all of the proceeds from the sale, rather than selling it for some fraction of it's worth and getting something instead of nothing?

I'm guessing HUD buys the home from the bank at a low foreclosure price and then makes it available to the police force. It sounds like the officer has to "vest" into the house after 15 years. Meanwhile, the neighborhood gets a police officer as a new resident, which would presumably deter crime. Everyone wins under this scenario--except, of course, the taxpayers. But hey, we're bailing everyone else out, including bank CEOs who are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. At least this money goes to a good cause.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by goozer

I'm guessing HUD buys the home from the bank at a low foreclosure price and then makes it available to the police force. It sounds like the officer has to "vest" into the house after 15 years. Meanwhile, the neighborhood gets a police officer as a new resident, which would presumably deter crime. Everyone wins under this scenario--except, of course, the taxpayers. But hey, we're bailing everyone else out, including bank CEOs who are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. At least this money goes to a good cause.

I've never understood why people think having a cop living in the neighborhood will "deter crime". Unless the guy spends his off hours sitting on the front porch with binoculars and a ****gun, or out walking the streets on patrol, the fact that he lives there will have no being on the crime rate. Sure, if there's a police cruiser parked in the driveway, its unlikely that particular house or the houses adjacent to it will be burglarized, but that's the extent of the "deterent" that I see.

The same logic would say that having firefighters living in the neighborhood will lower the risk of a fire, or that having teachers living in the neighborhood will make the residents smarter. I do believe that we owe it to civil servants, teachers, etc., to provide housing in the neighborhoods they work in so they aren't having to schlep 50 miles from the "affordable" areas of town to the areas that benefit from their services, but that's a social/class issue that goes beyond just those professions and is the concept behind the "mixed-use/mixed-income" developments that are being tried in various areas with "mixed success".

[JPD]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

I've never understood why people think having a cop living in the neighborhood will "deter crime".

In this case it's not a matter of having a cop as a neighbor, it's a matter of reducing the number of vacant houses. It's pretty easy to see how a vacant houses would attract crime/vagrants.

Having a cop in the neighborhood would not directly reduce crime, but it would likely encourage the neighborhood to familiarize itself with various crime prevention tips (things that cops consider common sense, but many people may have never thought of) through good old fashioned neighborliness towards the new cop/resident. It'd also probably result in faster response times if the police force knew something was going down on a fellow officer's street.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by JPD

In this case it's not a matter of having a cop as a neighbor, it's a matter of reducing the number of vacant houses. It's pretty easy to see how a vacant houses would attract crime/vagrants.

Well, having anyone occupy the house is better than having it vacant, but that doesn't justify opening this program just for police- maybe we should "give" the house to anyone who's willing to commit to the 15 years- I know I'd take that deal if the house was in the right neighborhood.

Originally Posted by JPD

Having a cop in the neighborhood would not directly reduce crime, but it would likely encourage the neighborhood to familiarize itself with various crime prevention tips (things that cops consider common sense, but many people may have never thought of) through good old fashioned neighborliness towards the new cop/resident. It'd also probably result in faster response times if the police force knew something was going down on a fellow officer's street.

Meh- maybe on both accounts, but I doubt it. Most of the cops I know aren't known for spending much time dishing out crime prevention tips to their neighbors- if anything, they want to just be "the neighbor" rather than "the cop neighbor". And I don't know that there's going to be some huge difference in response time just because a cop lives on the street (if the responding officer even knows he lives there)- again, maybe, but not enough of a possibility to warrant a program like we're talking about just on the off chance that it's true.

[goozer]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

I've never understood why people think having a cop living in the neighborhood will "deter crime". Unless the guy spends his off hours sitting on the front porch with binoculars and a ****gun, or out walking the streets on patrol, the fact that he lives there will have no being on the crime rate. Sure, if there's a police cruiser parked in the driveway, its unlikely that particular house or the houses adjacent to it will be burglarized, but that's the extent of the "deterent" that I see.

LOL. Anyone who sits on a front porch with binoculars and a gun is gonna deter crime, even if they are a lawyer or an accountant!!! I hear you on the police/crime deterrant thing (I did say "presumably"). But I suppose it could give neighbors peace of mind knowing there is a cop nearby. If someone is snooping around their house, they might get a faster response by calling their neighbor cop than the PD. Of course, the neighbor/cop would need an incentive to make house calls. But I suppose they could include something like that in his "contract" for the house. In some ways, I think it could be a real pain for the cop, especially since he could also be the target of vandalism or worse by the neighborhood houligans.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Meh- maybe on both accounts, but I doubt it.

So, if you lived in an area that was having crime problems, and you knew one of your neighbors was a cop, you (and your neighbors...but mainly YOU) wouldn't make any effort to get the officer's input/advice on reducing crime in your community?

I hope we don't live in the same neighborhood.