Tag: Crime

  • City Grapples with Problem of Absentee Landlords

    CITY GRAPPLES WITH PROBLEM OF ABSENTEE LANDLORDS

    A third of the violent crime at apartment complexes in Charlotte, North Carolina, occurs in a handful of facilities owned by hard-to-reach, out-of-state “absentee” landlords. The Charlotte police say this makes their work difficult.

    As a result, Charlotte’s city council is drafting an ordinance to create a landlord registry in a new database. The proposal is running into resistance. Like many cities, Charlotte is strapped for revenue and some opponents complain that creating and maintaining an absentee landlord database will add to the city’s budget woes.

    The Charlotte Landlord Association is fighting the proposed ordinance, arguing that most property managers are responsible and don’t need more government regulations.

    Under the proposal from the police department, landlords would have operating permits which could be revoked if they fail to address police problems at their facilities.

  • Ordinance Holds Owners Responsible For Reporting Missing Guns

    Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has a new municipal ordinance “requiring prompt notification to authorities of lost or stolen firearms, and imposing penalties.” The new ordinance would require gun owners to report the loss or theft of any registered firearms within 72 hours of their discovery. The ordinance was passed unanimously by the Lancaster City Council.

    City officials say the new ordinance is not an infringement on gun ownership rights or a citizen’s right to privacy.

    “Law abiding people, if their gun is stolen, they’re going to report it,” said Lancaster mayor Rick Gray. “So, when (people) say, ‘only criminals wouldn’t follow this,’ they’re exactly right.”

    Mayor Gray, a lawyer, said the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled the Second Amendment of the Constitution doesn’t apply to states and municipalities. “It only applies to the federal government,” he said.