Abandoned Buildings
Abandoned properties become police problems Because no one is present to guard it or to regwhen they attract crime and disorder. As a crime attractor, abandoned buildings provide cover, concealment, and opportunities for motivated criminals. Criminals are drawn to an abandoned property because it suits their needs and has few controls. As its reputation for being a suitable criminal environment becomes known, the property is used by offenders more frequently, which increases crime and disorder conditions.
ulate behavior, crime and disorderly conduct may escalate, which gradually erodes the sense of caring and ownership for the property and increases the risk of victimization and offending. Abandoned properties contribute to a self-perpetuating cycle of blight: tenants and building owners will not rehabilitate the property when fear and crime exist, and the government cannot reduce fear and crime when the neighbourhood is beset by abandoned properties.
The properties are indicators of blight that sym- Fear
of victimization in areas beset by abanbolize no one cares about the neighborhood; the doned buildings leads residents to exercise outmessage to onlookers is that the area is ungov- doors less frequently, which affects their physiernable, no one is willing to challenge another’s cal and psychosocial health and increases their behavior, and the risk of being caught is low. feelings of isolation. The elderly are particularly The signs of disorder as well as fear, crime, and fearful when their environment contains vacant social control are thoroughly studied, but wheth- buildings. er or not more serious crime inevitably follows is Serious violent crimes such as murder, robbery, not as well understood. and sexual assault sometimes occur in or around abandoned buildings and lots.
Vandalism Property values decline through dis-
investment and reduced commerce, tourism, and aesthetic appeal. Adjacent properties may require higher insurance premiums or be denied casualty insurance altogether. Lower property values command lower property tax revenue, which reduces funding for government services. A Philadelphia study showed housing sales prices declined most when the house for sale was within 150 feet of an abandoned building and gradually improved with distance. Public health is threatened by feces, illegal dumping, asbestos, lead particles, hazardous waste discharge, and airborne mold. Standing water in pools, hot tubs, and discarded tires breeds mosquitoes and other insects and also poses a drowning risk. Overgrown and undeveloped landscapes harbor mice, rats, stray animals, and other vermin. Mosquitoes and vermin are vectors for disease, particularly West Nile Virus, rabies, and various parasites. Public health is indirectly threatened by infectious diseases when the property is used for illicit sex and drug use involving needle-sharing.
A squatter is “a person who settles on
property without any legal claim or title. Squatters pose several risks by illegally connecting existing utilities (water, gas, electricity, and cable), or stealing them from a nearby legitimate property. Not having access to sanitary facilities or running water.
Starting fires to keep warm and to cook. Engaging in criminal activity. Not paying rent or local property taxes. Subjecting themselves to arrest for trespassing or other offenses. Provoking encounters with nearby residents who object to their presence and unconventional lifestyle.
E stimates
on the prevalence of abandoned buildings in the United States vary because there is no central clearinghouse of such information, the data are not consistent across jurisdictions, and definitions may vary. Counting abandoned buildings is difficult partly because defining “abandoned building,” “vacant lot,” and “housing unit” affects how each is counted, and they may be grouped together when they are separate issues.
T h e U.S. Census estimates the number of abandoned properties was 19 million at the end of the first quarter of 2010.
Fires
may be set deliberately by property owners facing mortgage problems, youth engaging in Halloween mischief, or accidentally by squatters, drug users, homeless who are cooking or keeping warm, or curious unsupervised children playing in the building. Fires in vacant lots may be fueled by abandoned vehicles or accumulated trash and are aggravated by dry, overgrown landscape. Fire threatens the surrounding environs and legitimate adjacent properties through the density of structures and is a direct risk to responding police officers and firefighters. Public health is threatened by feces, illegal dumping, asbestos, lead particles, hazardous waste discharge, and airborne mold. Standing water in pools, hot tubs, and discarded tires breeds mosquitoes and other insects and also poses a drowning risk. Overgrown and undeveloped landscapes harbor mice, rats, stray animals, and other vermin. Mosquitoes and vermin are vectors for disease, particularly West Nile Virus, rabies, and various parasites.
Detroit is now undergoing an of-
ficial “blight emergency,” according to an order signed by the city’s emergency manager last month. One-fifth of the city’s housing stock, approximately 78,000 homes, are vacant. If emergency sounds too strong, consider the case of Bill Wade, a 61-year-old Detroiter with multiple sclerosis who is paralyzed from the waist down. When he talked to WXYZ-TV, Wade said he lives in fear that the structure will go up in flames and set his house on fire. “I worry about that house [next door] because if I’m not here and I’m running an errand and that house goes up [in flames], he’s stuck,” Wade’s wife Linda explained to the local news station. According to Reuters, 60 percent of the city’s annual 12,000 fires involve blighted and abandoned buildings.
Empty since 2005, the house next to Wade’s has been hit by scrappers, and is now a home for rodents and small wild animals, WXYZ reports. Scrapping -- when thieves strip empty and even occupied houses of anything of value, including wiring and plumbing parts -- is such a problem in Detroit that local lawmakers have unsuccessfully tried to battle it with legislation aimed at the scrap metal industry. Wade’s fears are heartbreaking, but they aren’t unique issues that Detroiters must grapple with. Take Bill Lemanski, an 87-yearold who’s lived in the same Detroit home for more than four decades. On one side, WJBK-TV reports, there’s the remains of an abandoned house that caught fire.