September 2016 Blog
The Central District Neighborhood Resource Officer (NRO) is tasked with a wide range of responsibilities. One of the larger responsibilities is to serve as a liaison to the recently constructed high-occupancy or high-rise apartment buildings, which are becoming more prevalent on the isthmus. I strive to establish and maintain a working relationship with the owners and/or management companies of the larger apartment buildings in the Central District. Some of these buildings include The Hub, The Equinox, The Lucky, La Ciel, The Lux, The Domain, The Ovation, the Galaxie, and the Constellation – as well as several others.
While patrol officers continue to address routine calls for service at these buildings, I also respond to calls at these locations during my shift. I frequently conduct follow-up on incidents after patrol has responded to these buildings. An example of this is the common noise complaint usually generated when a party occurs. Officers on the scene may or may not get compliance from the tenants. I will follow up the next day by notifying the building management so they are aware of the incident, and, if necessary, I will take enforcement action. I screen prior calls for service to identify particular units which are generating a high volume of calls needing to be addressed and can see if a warning was previously issued. I also monitor overall monthly call for service data at these buildings and I meet with management to examine why there are so many calls at the particular building and what can be done to reduce the calls for service. I often provide insight and serve as a resource liaison to building management on topics of safety, security, and crime prevention. Many of these buildings have their own security officers staffed during different periods of times, but typically only at night on the weekends. I will frequently do walk-throughs of these buildings at the request of management and/or on my own of areas that require more attention.
Other issues that I frequently address in these buildings are drug activity, unwanted persons, trespassing, theft, burglaries, and quality of life issues. I regularly work with respective building management companies on environmental design, give input on building rules/policies, and sit down to look at ways to dig deeper into chronic problems. In my role, I am also able to seek out other resources within MPD, such as the Mental Health Officer, or other resources within city government, such as Building Inspection to aide in addressing a variety of matters. Through continued efforts, my goals are to keep these high-occupancy buildings distinctive and desirable places to live where the residents can all coexist. Compliance, community cooperation, and safety are my priorities as the NRO of this challenging new neighborhood.
PO Matt Baker