Police target crime in Tempe apartments

Tempe apartment managers looking to keep their complexes crime-free have an advocate at the Police Department.

Crime prevention specialist Brandon Eaden is in charge of the Tempe Police Department's Crime-Free Multi-Housing Program, which aims to assist owners, residents and managers in keeping illegal activity off their property.

"It's all about working together for me," Eaden said.

Eaden regularly checks in with managers to see if they're experiencing problems. If they are, he passes information on to police officers. He also encourages managers to collaborate.

Tuesday,he brought managers together for the second monthly Tempe Managers Against Crime meeting. The gathering gives managers an opportunity to discuss problem tenants and neighborhood trends, he said.

Members of the program benefit from special interaction with police officers, too.

Dispatchers inform officers when they're responding to a member complex and officers later fill out a card explaining what happened and pass it on to management. That keeps managers aware of what's going on at their complex and if an arrest is made, allows for more swift evictions, said Officer George Lomeli who works closely with Eaden on the program.

Residents of participating complexes must sign a form stating they won't allow illegal activities in their apartment. The form allows police and managers to hold residents accountable, Lomeli said.

"We're taking care of the problem before it gets bigger and becomes a cancer," said Sgt. Mike Kepler, whose ACTION Team unit is focused on attacking neighborhood crime trends.

Lomeli, the unit's liaison to the multihousing program, said he often contacts managers who have reported problems to discuss how police can help.

The partnership is priceless, said Tina Crose, regional manager at Tanglewood Apartments on West University Drive.

Tanglewood has been involved with the program for at least six years.

Participating mangers complete three phases of the program: a seminar about quelling criminal activity, a site evaluation and a crime prevention event for residents of the complex.

"Through all that process, now we have really nice tenants and it runs very smoothly," Crose said.

Eaden encourages any apartment complex manager with more than 20 units to sign up. Eventually, he hopes to be able to invite condominiums and hotels to participate.

For more information, call Eaden at 480-858-6219 or visit tempe.gov/CPU/cfmh.htm.