Daytona Beach, FLA. Using Code Violations To Eliminate Crime

OFF THE WIRE.
Sent By Chuck...
Some Alpha Biker commentary By Chuck... MCs take note... this is a tried and true tactic used by local officials. If you value your club's property, educated yourself on local ordinances that apply to your building. This is one form of "economic warfare" being waged against the clubs... if they can't arrest you for illegal activity, they will attempt to bury you with fines and property seizures. Stay vigilant!
WFTV.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Daytona Beach police have a found a new way to fight crime in their city. They've found that where there are a lot of code violations there's also a lot of crime, and after two months they say it seems to be really working.
Daytona Beach police view one case as their first great achievement. They say a house on Tanglewood Street, in a residential neighborhood, was being used as a clubhouse for the Outlaw motorcycle gang, which is also an organized crime syndicate.
Others who live in the neighborhood are so afraid of the Outlaws, they didn't want to be identified, but said they don't like the neighbor.
"The noise, the parties, the intimidation," a resident told WFTV.
Police say children and the Outlaws don't belong so close together, and they say the Outlaws are leaving.
"They've been hit with a $20,000 fine. The owner's been hit. So he's in the process of rectifying the situation," Deputy Police Chief Stephen Beres said.
Beres came up with the idea to use code violations to plot high crime areas, because there's a correlation between criminals and properties that are not well cared for.
Police found graffiti on the sea wall along the beach at North Atlantic. Then they found out it was not just a code violation, it was a gang signal, so they got rid of it and figure they got rid of the gang that was marking it as its territory.
Police can't say how many arrests they've made since they started the program two months ago, but say the positive feedback from the neighborhoods shows it's working.
"We're taking it back. We're showing them they can't put the law-abiding residents in fear," Beres said.
Daytona Beach police say they're hoping that, eventually, the criminals will either get tired of moving around the city and leave for good or they'll end up getting arrested and convicted, and do some time behind bars.