Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleFORECLOSURES:
Police ask — gasp — that we be neighborly
Caring might prevent crime as financial stresses mount, they say
Steve Fuquay, a Metro Police crime prevention specialist, speaks during a free seminar on home foreclosure issues at the Jerry Keller Training Center, 9880 W. Cheyenne Ave., Tuesday, July 28, 2009.
Thursday, July 30, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Sun Topics
Tuesday night, Metro Police invited the public to its training facility in the northwest to be briefed on the latest crime problem: home foreclosures.
This was Metro’s message: We think of foreclosures as an economic problem, but like other economic problems they can lead to social problems. Like crime. As in, financial stress might lead to drug or alcohol abuse and domestic violence. As in, squatters and drug dealers move into abandoned homes. As in, a rundown neighborhood is a target for criminals.
Please have a sense of community and look out for your neighbors, urged Steve Fuquay, a crime prevention specialist.
“In the northwest area command, we have saying — a motto, really — that crime prevention is citizen attention,” he said, urging people to “act like your family, look out for your neighbors.”
It was almost un-Vegas-like to ask people to talk to their neighbors, to notice whether they’re putting out more empty booze bottles than usual and to ask them how they’re doing. And, well, in this awful year of 2009, maybe being neighborly is worth a shot. Pay attention if you hear shouting and fighting.
Fuquay was quick to say he wasn’t asking people to be social workers, to go where maybe they shouldn’t, just to pay attention. If it’s not your business but it sounds bad, maybe call the cops and let them see what’s going on.
Fuquay also made an appeal to self-interest in terms of maintaining the neighborhood: It might keep you safe.
Think about seeing a neighborhood with empty houses, dead lawns, open gates and trash.
“What do I think as a criminal? I’m going to think people in this neighborhood don’t care! Maybe there’s a door unlocked or a window unlocked. See how the criminal thinks?” Fuquay said, tapping his head.
He also said people have to remember that they are their own first lines of defense when it comes to their property and themselves. The police are only backup.
The audience applauded.
The meeting was organized by patrol Lt. Jack Owen. Late last year, he says, Metro was trying to figure out what problems the force might face in 2009. And though there were no numbers to support it, anecdotally it seemed like the pox of foreclosures was changing communities and challenging police forces. So even if it’s not conventional policing, why not try to do something about foreclosures? Hence the idea of public meetings. Tuesday night’s was the first. The night was divided into two parts — the first, criminal, and the second, financial.
It was the second part that really made the audience of 70 or so citizens sit up and take notice. Finally, bankers, attorneys, real estate agents and brokers would tell them how to save their houses from foreclosure, how to get lower mortgage payments.
The man leading this part of the presentation was a mortgage banker, Shane Watson, a vice president at Direct Access Lending (est. 1999). He told people they must learn to hope and to be strong. He offered the audience a Japanese phrase that he said meant “the preparation to fight.”
Watson gave out an assortment of phone numbers for banks and government agencies, plus foreclosure prevention Web sites such as makinghomeaffordable.gov. He led people through the definitions of short sales and different types of foreclosures. He warned people about the fraudulent types out there. He said banks have their own best interests at heart and urged the audience to always talk to the loan modification department, never the collection department, whose only job is to get money out of you.
Interspersed with this was a lot of talk that seemed oddly, appallingly familiar, as if you turned on the radio and the DJ was playing Hanson without a sense of irony.
Las Vegas is “an economic gold mine,” Watson said. Investors from around the world want to buy land here. Sure, times are tough, but we can’t be down on Las Vegas. We need to be its ambassadors, its salespeople.
“We should all be telling these Californians how great it is here so maybe instead of buying their $900,000, 1,500 square-foot house in Newport Beach, they’ll come here and buy properties, maybe including your short sale house,” Watson said.
He asked the audience to think about what’s going on right now that’s good news.
The audience laughed.
Later, Watson predicted that in 12 years, real estate prices would be back to 2006 levels — no, better than 2006.
The audience laughed derisively and scoffed unprintably.
Watson turned to his fellow panel members for support, saying surely none could disagree.
A foreclosure attorney did and raised her hand to say so. The Realtor next to her said he couldn’t say what he thought, even as he pantomimed putting a pistol to his head.
Discussion: comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
No trusted comments have been posted.
Post a comment
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Discussed
- E-mailed
- Photos: Scott Disick celebrates his 29th birthday at 1 OAK in the Mirage
- HOA scandal cuts wide swath across Las Vegas Valley
- Man suffers bullet wound when stopping burglary attempt
- Photos: Surrender’s 2nd anniversary with Skrillex, ‘Le Reve,’ Paris and Floyd
- Nearly 40,000 have voted early in Clark County
Everything Under the Sun
Blogs
The Kats Report
With Shenandoah project stalled, Wayne Newton hits back legally (7 Comments)
Las Vegas Philharmonic says search for new music director to begin 'immediately' (1 Comment)
Where does a Playmate play when she turns 21? Vegas! (3 Comments)
Ice Ice Billy
The road to six-toed cats and Mayor Bubba
The Kats Report
David Itkin tells L.V. Philharmonic officials he's on his way out (14 Comments)
Diamond Dave sells it well as Van Halen pours out the power at MGM Grand (2 Comments)
Entering debut at Tryst, Nick Hissom is a model for a rapid rise to prominence (3 Comments)
- Locally owned and independent since 1950; Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, best news website in the nation & DuPont Award for broadcast journalism
"He asked the audience to think about what's going on right now that's good news."
Right Wingers and gun whackos have a Gun Show this weekend....coo coo coo boogity boogity boogity, let's go "huntin" boys!!
Later, Watson predicted that in 12 years, real estate prices would be back to 2006 levels -- no, better than 2006.
12 Years. WOW. I'm sure everyone is breathing a sigh of relief. I wonder what the population of Vegas will be at that time? 500,000? A million? 250,000?
PS This guy Watson is dreaming. Like people are going to move from Newport Beach to Las Vegas....NOT without those topless swimming pools!
Watson has a valid point. Home prices are beyond cheap, in some areas at a 25 year low. And as California continues its downward spiral, raises taxes and the cost of living, I wouldn't be surprised to see an exodus across the state line.
This is from Forbes magazine earlier this year. It seems Watson has a valid point.
'Meanwhile, cities with formerly robust economies--like Reno, Nev., Las Vegas, Orlando, Fla., Tampa, Fla., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., West Palm Beach, Fla., Jacksonville, Fla., and Phoenix--are more likely to rebound. These areas topped our list for much of the 2000s; their success was driven first by surging population and job growth and later by escalating housing prices.
We can even be cautiously optimistic about some of these former superstars. After all, observes Phoenix-based economist Elliot Pollack, the existing reasons for moving to Arizona, Nevada or Florida--warm weather, relatively low taxes and generally pro-business governments--have not disappeared. "There's no change in the fundamentals," he argues. "It's a transition. It's ugly, and there's pain, but it's still a cycle that will turn."
Once the economy stabilizes, Pollack says he expects the flow of people and companies from the Northeast and California to Phoenix and other former hot spots will resume, once again lured by inexpensive real estate, better conditions for business and a generally more up-to-date infrastructure.'
...and i got a bridge to sell you in mesquite.
More Californians (or anyone else) moving here isn't what we need UNLESS they bring jobs and/or income with them. There's so many empty houses, apartments & strip malls now that there won't be much need of any contruction for a good 5-10 years, and the service & retail sectors have excess capacity as well. Rather than encourage people to move here, we should be encouraging R&D and tech start ups, especially those with links to energy, defense and the hospitality/entertainment industries that may be able to synergistically link up with what we already have here.
"If it's not your business but it sounds bad, maybe call the cops and let them see what's going on."
Why? So Metro can go in and arrest the male if you hear the neighbors arguing, put him in jail, ruin his life and tell him he's not allowed to own firearms because he raised his voice.
You can't trust half the idiots working for Metro to make rational judgments in normal situations let alone heated ones.
let's assume all those people come here from california.
were are THEY going to find jobs? we don't have jobs for the people we already have here NOW.
Change occurs when "average citizens" become involved in the process. Again, Las Vegans aren't exactly famous for making an effort to know the neighbors! The transient rate must have something to do with it. I agree with Metro-it isn't about "calling the cops"-it's more about looking out for one another.
Now, Las Vegans, is that really a difficult concept?