Police looking for landlords' help to improve parts of southwest Cedar Rapids

Police have called upon landlords to help turn around a concerning crime trend in southwest Cedar Rapids.

Police calls to about 20 apartment buildings along 21

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Avenue and 21

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Avenue Place SW rose significantly from 2009 to 2010, police said. Lt. Tobey Harrison said an increasing number of violent crimes are taking place in that area.

About a half-dozen landlords manage the buildings in what is commonly known as the Westdale Court area. Harrison invited them all to a meeting at police headquarters Tuesday, to discuss ways to improve the area, but only two landlords, who are responsible for five of the buildings, attended the meeting.

“This is community policing, and we afford the same options to all,” Harrison said. “We're just trying to make contact and improve areas of the city.”

During the hour-long meeting, Harrison showed pictures of the trash, graffiti and broken windows officers found in the area. As the west district lieutenant, he said he is tasked with improving quality of life and property values, in addition to crime suppression.

“Your tenants have a right to live in a nice place, you have an expectation that people maintain your property and there's also an expectation that people are safe there,” Harrison told the landlords.

One of the landlords, who declined to be identified, expressed frustration that a representative from Westdale Court Apartments, which manages most of the buildings identified by police, did not attend Tuesday's meeting.

Police were called to one Westdale apartment building, 3960 21

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Ave. Pl. SW, on 16 different occasions in 2010, including three reports of gunshots.

“I think (the landlords who attended) are frustrated that they're trying, making significant efforts and investing significant amounts of money to improve the area, and then you've got a large apartment complex that's not interested in coming to the table,” Harrison said.

Cedar Rapids adopted a landlord licensing program last year, which requires landlords to incorporate a crime-free agreement with tenants. Landlords who are not registered can be fined up to $1,000 per month.

Harrison said Tuesday's meeting wasn't an extension of that program, but merely an attempt to clean-up what seems to be a problem area.

Police advise landlords to carefully screen tenants, conduct background checks, and they recommend month-to-month leases. Improving the lighting also can help reduce crime, Harrison said.

Despite the lack of attendance, Harrison said the meeting was a step in the right direction. He said police will continue to evaluate the statistics and seek remedies for problems that arise.