I’ll admit it. One of the most exciting parts of my life as a Property Manager on a Section 8 property was getting involved in the drug busts. It was an adrenaline rush like no other, no pun intended. Part of being a Manager on any property in any community is to provide decent, safe and sanitary apartment homes for our Residents. And, yes, I call the people who live in my communities “Residents” and not Tenants simply because everyone deserves to be treated respectfully. It is also a mindset. We must adopt the notion that people want to live long term, or at least as long as necessary, willingly in our apartment communities. This will reduce turnover costs and promote a more harmonious living environment for our Residents. We must believe that there is value in creating a warm, nurturing home atmosphere for our Residents. If we are successful, they will stay longer; they will take better care of their apartment homes, and thus the property.

You never want someone to feel bad about where they came from or what their current circumstances in life may be. You want to uplift your Residents’ spirits and promote a better lifestyle. If we can impart this mindset to our Residents, they in turn will believe in themselves more and become contributing members of our communities. At least this is my personal motto.

This is why I take illegal drug activity so personally and seriously. Many people assume it is normal to have this type of activity in a Section 8 or otherwise income-restricted community. But it is not, nor should it be acceptable. With the approaching cold weather season, many drug dealers take their action indoors, so usually the first sign that all is not well in your community is when you start seeing a lot of coming and going in a particular unit. Cars may pull up outside and only one person exits. These people don’t stay long; maybe fifteen minutes tops. You may notice the Resident does not lock his door anymore or leaves windows ajar. You may notice a formerly clean and neat individual start looking unwashed, wearing dirty clothes and you may notice he is losing weight. Your Maintenance Techs will most likely notice these things before you do. You may have this person’s neighbors complaining about excessive noise, weird smells, and lots of people visiting.

But illegal drug activity can and does occur in the nicest apartment community anywhere. Drug addiction is not limited to poor communities’ Residents. It happens everywhere. However, the signs are almost always the same. This is a universal truth.

There are some things you can do and there are some things you MUST do. Otherwise your property will be subject to a decline in your Resident profile and demographic, appearance, curb appeal and overall safety.

1. Develop a Neighborhood Watch Program with your local Police and Residents.
2. Take all reports seriously and report them to the Police and local drug task force.
3. Train the Service Team for all signs of illicit drug activity in the community.
4. Have a plan in place for how all team members should respond should anyone actually see or witness usage, sales, or paraphernalia in a unit.
5. Keep logs up to date regarding what is happening on your property.
6. Report all incidents promptly to the Police and your company’s chain of command. Managers must understand that a unit may be declared a public nuisance. If this happens, the Owner of the property can be fined by the city in which the property is located.
7. Document and Evict!

Here are some prime examples of suspected illegal activity on a property.

Example 1: A car pulls up and parks in front of Unit A. The motor is on and no one exits the car. Someone (may or may not be the actual Resident) exits the apartment and walks up to the car, bends down and puts his head inside the car and one hand is visible while the other disappears inside the car. Less than sixty seconds later, the person walks back and goes inside the apartment and the car backs out and drives away.

Example 2: You notice a car parked in an out-of-the-way part of the community. The motor may be running, or it may not be. Usually within twenty minutes another car may drive into the community and park in the opposite direction so that both drivers can speak to one another. Usually an exchange takes place. Afterwards, both cars drive away. Typically, these drivers are identifiable as particular visitors to certain Residents.

Example 3: Many visitors come and go from an apartment at all hours of the day and night. There is usually noise associated with these comings and goings and typically there may be a lot of litter, such as beer bottles and cans strewn around the entry.

Example 4: You have a Resident who has a known affiliation with a recently paroled individual and you are now seeing that person on your site. This person may be the father of one of your Resident’s children and claims to be there to “visit” or “babysit.”

Property Managers must initiate an investigation with their Neighborhood Watch Captain, the Police Department/drug task force, and any other local authority. On a lot of properties there is an assigned Officer and you can work directly with this person. You need to be able to provide descriptions and license plate numbers of cars and individuals and records of the times, dates and locations of the suspected activity. No detail is minor. This is the least that you can do. The best resource I have seen can be found at this link: www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/14856.pdf.

I was fortunate, I feel, to be actively engaged in the investigations of drug activity on my properties. I was informed at all times of what was going on and what was needed before the Task Force could make arrests. There was willingness on my behalf, as the Manager, to be available at all times to these Officers. This allowed an extremely trustworthy relationship to form and it was truly a, “I’ve got your back” exchange. Although my PMC was somewhat supportive, most companies simply want you to notice and report what you see and hear. Proactive Property Managers will help avoid the really ugly activity that can result when drug activity is allowed to prosper. It’s better to get ahead of it than to bury your head in the sand and be placed in the position of reacting to a problem that is now out of control. It is important to educate yourself on this issue.