Creative partnerships for nuisance abatement in Memphis Judge
Creative partnerships for nuisance abatement in Memphis Judge Larry Potter Patrick Dandridge 1
Part 2: Environmental Community Courts and the Memphis Police Department Judge Larry Potter Shelby County Environmental Court Memphis, Tennessee 2
Memphis suffers from blight and traditional code enforcement can’t cure it 3
In 2008, the University of Memphis conducted a study… where citizens counted the number and type of 4 blighted properties in their neighborhoods
The data showed blight patterns, and divided the city …into zones of a similar blight percentages 5
Zone 1 Long term blight and crime 6
Zone 2 Hit hard by foreclosures and rising crime 7
Zone 3 8 Stable neighborhoods touching other zones
% of blighted properties in each zone 5% 55% 25% 9
There are different types of blight in each zone Code MPD 16% 29% 24% 21% 10
Police action quickly resolves non-structural cases 11
Zone 2: Neighborhoods hit hard 12 Blight could be reduced substantially in a matter of months
Structural issues Code Enforcement 34, 173 Properties Citywide Fewer than 100 inspectors Types of blight MPD 9347 Properties Citywide More than 2500 officers 13
Structural issues Require specially trained inspectors 14
Non-Structural issues Need a good pair of eyes… 15
Non-Structural issues …and follow-up to check for compliance 16
●Frayser Community Court ●Cordova Community Court ●Orange Mound Community Court ●Soulsville Community Court ●Whitehaven Community Court ●Hickory Hill Community Court 17 Community Courts serve the City of Memphis …
●Frayser Community Court ●Cordova Community Court ●Orange Mound Community Court ●Soulsville Community Court ●Whitehaven Community Court ●Hickory Hill Community Court 18 Allowing for justice at the neighborhood level
●Frayser Community Court -Old Allen Precincts ●Cordova Community Court Soulsville Community Court ● -Union Precinct -beginning late 2012 ●Orange Mound Community Court -Tillman Precinct -Airways Precinct -Union Precinct (until June 2012) -Appling Farms Precinct -beginning late 2012 ●Whitehaven Community Court -Raines Precinct ●Hickory Hill Community Court -Mt. Moriah Precinct -Ridgeway Precinct 19 Police precinct lines divide the Community Courts
Community Courts meet in a variety of locations With most of the cases brought by Memphis Police officers 20
Officers focus on quickly correctable nuisances 21
The idea to have police bring these cases came from officers themselves 22
“There weren’t any drugs… but you won’t believe what we found” 23
“There weren’t any drugs… but you won’t believe what we found” 24
“There weren’t any drugs… but you won’t believe what we found” 25
The results of police cases are faster resolution and higher case volumes 26
Some officers needed convincing 27
In fact, it is the duty of MPD to enforce all of the Memphis Code of Ordinances Memphis Code Sec. 28 -8 Duty to enforce Code of Ordinances. It shall be the duty of the director of police and all his or her subordinates to enforce all of the provisions of this code and all subsequent ordinances, and to arrest offenders for violations thereof, to be dealt with according to law, notwithstanding the creation of special police, inspectors, boards and commissions to enforce or 28 supervise the enforcement of specific provisions of this code and subsequent ordinances.
Police have brought more cases than other agencies combined since 2010 29
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