Last Saturday the RCMP certified a fourth rental building as crime free in the city.
The certification is part of an international crime free multi-housing program, which uses strict and common sense safety features to make residents less vulnerable to crime.
Crime free multi-housing was developed by the Mesa Arizona Police Department in 1992 and has since spread to over 2,000 cities across the world.
The building, 20 Nevada Place, is the fourth building in St. Albert to get the designation, with the first building being designated in Oct. 2015.
The police haven’t compiled statistics yet, but say that overall the relationship between residents and the RCMP has strengthened and made the building more safe.
“It allows us to work together instead of having people wondering if things are okay,” Cpl. Laurel Kading said. “I can speak to, that property managers and residents are letting us know they like it. They like to know that the police are working with them.”
For buildings to qualify for their crime-free designation they must go through a three-phase process where property managers work closely with the RCMP to achieve crime prevention through environmental design.
Managers and property owners participate in an eight-hour-long seminar to learn about gangs, drug activity and general crime prevention.
Police audit the buildings to inspect nine general safety areas including having the proper door locks and 180 degree peepholes.
Outside of the building, managers must ensure there is proper lighting and landscaping to promote visibility.
“They’re not great hurdles to improving the building,” Kading said. “It’s not a huge expense, especially if the building is built with the standards right from square one.”
Along with environmental factors, the RCMP will train building management and conduct day and night audits on the building.
Residents are also required to sign an agreement that information about them can be shared with property management and the police. A tenant can be evicted if they are convicted of a crime.
Once a year the management hosts a safety social where residents gather to get to know their neighbours. The RCMP also attend to share safety tips and create strong relationships with the residents.
“It’s not just about having good locks, it’s about having good neighbours,” Kading said.
Kading says ideally the entire city would move towards being certified with the crime free multi housing and wants to “help people walk into their building and feel safer.”
