The investigation and abatement of nuisance properties.

• Author: Stephens, Adam B.

DANGEROUS PLACES such as out-of-control taverns and drug houses threaten public safety and drain police resources. Effective crime prevention requires cooperation between property owners, businesses, and police because crime can only occur at suitable places. This article is intended to provide police and attorneys with methods to develop meaningful dialogue with place managers to prevent suitable places for crime and to offer an overview of strategies used to abate nuisance activity.

For purposes of this article, a public nuisance is a reoccurring misuse of property that adversely affects the use of neighboring properties. Historically, public nuisance cases typically involved a property owner suing a neighbor for creating offensive conditions, e.g., dirty factories or odorous farms. These equitable lawsuits usually ask a court to order the offending party to abate (or stop) the activity that is causing the nuisance and to prevent its reoccurrence. The public nuisance doctrine is not meant to punish the offending party for causing the discomfort in the first place (that being the proper roles of the tort or criminal justice processes).

Many states have enacted statutes that specifically define certain kinds of nuisance actions and the relief that may be sought. For example, any building or structure used to facilitate the delivery, distribution, or manufacture of controlled substances, or used to facilitate the activities of a criminal gang, is a public nuisance per se. Any building used or occupied for the purpose of prostitution is likewise a nuisance. These statutes usually permit a court to order the closure or sale of a nuisance property.

Locally, many municipalities have ordinances that permit the police department to request property or business owners to abate nuisances at their property or charge the property or business owners for police services after there are a particular number of police responses within a certain time frame.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION OF PROPERTY

Investigating an alleged nuisance property requires an inquiry into the history of a property as documented by government records. Reports and data compilations kept by a public agency in the ordinary course of business are reliable sources of information and are not hearsay. Typically, police reports documenting facts and observations of police during an investigation are evidence in and of themselves in the civil context.

A police computer-assisted dispatch system database will assist in determining the number, frequency, and type of calls for police services from or regarding a suspected nuisance property. Reviewing this record may also assist in the identification of parties associated with the property before making contact. However, please note that allegations reported via the 911 system are typically hearsay and may be of questionable evidentiary value without some sort of corroboration. A good example would be a complaint of a loud party that is quiet upon squad arrival but corroborated by the presence of beer bottles, litter, and trampled grass.

Police incident report databases will document criminal activity rising to the level of probable cause at the property. Incident reports will also identify previous stakeholders, occupants, and associates of the property. Prior complaints of drug dealing or gang activity may be contained in intelligence-gathering databases kept by multi-jurisdictional investigative agencies. The department of corrections and sheriffs' offices may also have records relative to supervised individuals that claim a particular property as a residence. Lastly, building inspection and code enforcement records may reveal previous property condition, noise nuisance, or vector control problems.

After a brief review of these databases, an allegation that a property may be...