Nuisance rules could help Prineville police

A nuisance ordinance could help regulate repeat crimes in Prineville. Police Chief Dale Cummins said it’s an effort to look for long-term solutions for some properties with repeated criminal activity.

The ordinance would not target a specific instance. The definition of a nuisance in this case is a crime.

The ordinance would allow police to go to repeat-offense properties to deal with property owners directly.

If crimes like disorderly conduct or public intoxication keep happening at a residence, citing people coming and going from the residence won’t stop the behavior, Cummins said. This ordinance allows police to find a reasonable solution to the problem with the owner.

If the homeowner does not want to comply with the police, then officers could take their evidence to a judge and ask to shut the property down.

The only way police could use this ordinance is if a property violated the law three times in a 30-day period.

“Let’s say you are a homeowner, you are having parties every weekend,” Cummins said. “There are crimes associated with those parties, you are not cooperating with us and you feel like you can continue to party, be disruptive to your neighbors, have several crimes committed, and maybe DUIIs are leaving.

“We’ve got people who are drunk and on other people’s property, and it’s not one isolated incident, but a reoccurring theme. This allows us to say, ‘Come work with us and clean this up — or we are going to go before a judge with you and ask him to take sanctions against you to help us solve this problem.'”

As police chief, Cummins is the only one who could act under the ordinance, but there are steps he would have to take.

He would go to a city attorney, provide the necessary evidence to prove the property is a chronic nuisance, then bring it before a judge.

Cummins said from experience working for police in other cities, enacting the ordinance ahead of time, instead of reacting to one specific issue, is better for the city and its residents.

The city council approved the first reading of the ordinance Tuesday night. Cummins will return for a second presentation and second reading in two weeks, with an expected final vote.