VACAVILLE GROUP COMPLAINS OF POLICE, LANDLORD APATHY

VACAVILLE -- Some Vacaville residents worry that a program designed to
work with neighborhoods to get crime and drugs off their streets isn't
doing the job.

The Vacaville division of Safe Streets Now!, a nonprofit developed to
outline steps for residents to take action and sue an owner of a
property that is identified as a drug or gang house under the
California Civil Code, is under scrutiny by some residents who feel
the police department isn't keeping up its end of the deal.

"They just aren't listening to us, but we are the ones that have to
live around all this stuff," resident Mariam Marshall said. Her
3-year-old daughter was playing on the street next to a boarded-up
home that overflows with drug addicts around 4 p.m. everyday, she added.

"We keep these logs daily and nothing comes from it," she said. "The
police department sees these type of things going on here and they
just don't care."

Meaghan O'Neill, a crime prevention specialist of the police
department, wasn't aware of anyone dissatisfied with the program and,
for the most part, it is a process an individual or neighborhood can
do by themselves.

"The neighbors are the eyes and ears," O'Neill said. "But we don't
just leave them on their own - we help facilitate any services they
need."

Vacaville has run the program for almost 11 years and successfully
solved 29 cases, while three remain open and in various stages. None
of the cases have gone all the way to court because of the threat of
huge financial losses and landlord wanting "to do the right thing,"
O'Neill said.

The last stage in the process is to take the landlord to small claims
court - where each resident can sue for up to $5,000 - if there was no
response to a letter sent to the property owner requesting action.
After the initial walk-through with neighbors by the police department
and after an action plan is designed, residents are encouraged to keep
activity logs documenting suspicious activity.

"They write a note to the landlord asking them to take care of the
problem, and they have the documentation to prove it," O'Neill said.
"Most of the landlords contact them within days."

Residents on Ithica Court in Vacaville, where a recent drug bust
temporarily landed three suspects in jail, said that although they
sent a letter to the landlord and police have came by the house
numerous times, drug activity continues to run rampant.

"Nothing is happening," said Mark McDonald, who lives a few houses
down from where the bust occurred. "We are busting our butts to get
these guys off the streets, but we are on our own."

"The program is a great idea, but it won't work if it's not
implemented correctly," said Marshall, who was also involved with Safe
Streets Now! in Washington. "Everyone in the community needs to band
together, not just the people living in the neighborhoods. It affects
us all."

Anyone interested in more information about Vacaville's division of
Safe Streets Now! can contact the Crime Prevention Unit at 449-6144 or
449-6142.