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Landlords Can Deter Crime With Background Checks: Ald. Patrick Thompson

By Ed Komenda | June 15, 2016 5:39am
 In Bridgeport, there are pockets of houses and apartment complexes that carry bad reputations as trouble spots —  targets of shooters and hangouts for drug dealers.
In Bridgeport, there are pockets of houses and apartment complexes that carry bad reputations as trouble spots — targets of shooters and hangouts for drug dealers.
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DNAinfo/Ed Komenda

BRIDGEPORT — After a string of shootings put one man in the hospital and left a teenage boy dead, neighborhood residents are echoing a similar question to Chicago Police and Ald. Patrick D. Thompson (11th):

What are you doing about it?

Thompson said he has been trying to find new ways to derail future violence in the neighborhood, and one tactic is sending city inspectors to properties where shootings happen.

“Any time there are shootings like this, I speak with the building commissioner the next day, and all those buildings are being inspected,” Thompson said. “We are doing our part in making sure property owners are responsible.”

In Bridgeport, there are pockets of houses and apartment complexes that carry bad reputations as trouble spots — targets of shooters and hangouts for drug dealers.

It’s important for landlord to be fully aware of every tenant’s background, Thompson said, to make sure they’re not letting career criminals signs leases and bring crime to the neighborhood.

“We ask our landlords that they do a background check, that they do a credit check, that they have a lease in place and it’s not just word of mouth,” Thompson said.

Mary Welter, a Bridgeport Citizens Group member, said there are things neighborhoods folks can do to help, too.

“If you have bad buildings, you know where we are,” said Welter, who takes problem addresses to court to push for evictions and landlord fines.

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