Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree announced a new initiative Friday to get owners involved when their properties are a known trouble spot or haven for the homeless.
The Property Owner Response Team or PORT is an effort to collaborate with those owners “to address intensive patterns of criminal activity” that are taking place on their properties, according to a news release.
Augusta has long suffered from crime trouble spots that range from ill-maintained apartment complexes to unsecured Washington Road properties that create an easy haven for problem behavior.
The sheriff’s office is reaching out to those property owners, starting with the Washington Road corridor. The office is launching the initiative with a 6:30 p.m. Tuesday town hall discussion at Warren Road Community Center.
To property owners, the news release stated:
“This invite serves as your notification to voice your concerns. We would like to start a proactive strategy among business owners and your sheriff’s Office. We will be hosting an open discussion and welcoming feedback from business owners in the Washington Road-Interstate 20 area in response to their expressed concerns involving homeless issues affecting crime in this commercial strip.”
The collaboration seeks buy-in and an acknowledgment by owners that their properties have high rates of crime. It wants consent from owners to take action, whether the owner is present or not.
The goals of the collaboration are:
- To identify all property owners in the focus area
- To request each owner acknowledge that data shows high crime in the area
- To meet with all owners in the area to get them involved
- To obtain written permission for the sheriff’s office to act on an owner’s behalf
- To remove unauthorized personal property or temporary structures from the site
- To remove any person not present to conduct business from quasi-public parking areas
- To work with the court system to ensure both the owner’s and removed person’s rights are protected
