After witnessing two Kokomo police officers respond to Walmart for a minor disturbance, Kokomo Common Council member Bob Cameron decided it was time for big box stores to handle their own security.
With that issue in mind, Cameron sponsored an ordinance that cracks down on “chronic nuisance properties,” specifically big box stores that rely heavily on local police for security when handling issues like minor shoplifting or noise disturbances.
The council unanimously approved the ordinance’s first reading Monday, but various members and council attorney Corbin King said adjustments to specifics within the ordinance will likely be added before the second reading. The next council meeting is April 25.
“I think what’s happening today is that you have the big box stores and other places that are getting rid of their security and relying on the police department to answer to frivolous things,” said Cameron.
In the ordinance, a chronic nuisance property is defined as any property that requires more than three police runs in a calendar month for a theft less than $50 in value, or a property that receives three ordinance citations or verified complaints of prohibited conduct in any 60-day period.
If police respond to a property for more than three violations in a 60-day period, the property owner will be subject to various fines. After the fourth visit, a $250 fine will be levied, jumping to $500 for the fifth and $2,500 for the sixth.
For instance, if Walmart calls police for more than three minor shoplifting incidents in a 60-day period, the store owner will be fined. If an apartment complex calls for more than three prohibited violations, including unnecessary noise or disorderly conduct, the same fine will be levied.
Cameron, who modeled the idea off a similar South Bend ordinance, said the regulations are intended to unburden police officers from calls to places that have the resources to staff their own security officers.
“There are other complaints that certain areas should handle and they’re not. They’re taking police officers that are protecting the city off the street, and that is ridiculous,” he said. “You have motels and hotels that will call the police if someone has loud music. That is their job, but they don’t want to do it.”
While King, who echoed the sentiment that big box stores are the council’s focus, said the theft number will stay at three, he noted the number for prohibited conduct calls may be raised.
In the ordinance, prohibited conduct also includes crimes like prostitution, the sale of illegal drugs, gambling, battery and more. Therefore, council members want to be sure they aren’t limiting needed police interactions, said King.
“What do we have at this apartment or business? What are these types of complaints?” asked King, referencing the issues the council is considering. “Do we need to give them more [calls] because there are more people at a residential apartment, which is different from many public places?”
While calling the current ordinance a “rough draft,” King continued to highlight the council’s focus on big box stores. After talking with KPD officers, King said officers get, on average, at least one phone call per day from Walmart.
“That is the main crux,” he said. “Other apartments, retail stores also have an abundance of calls that are unnecessary. We want them to have ownership and take command of their own security.”
King said the ordinance has also raised the issue of creating a code enforcement branch within city government. Currently, code enforcement officers also hold other jobs within the city.
Most likely, the decision to create a branch or hire a person solely for code enforcement will come after seeing the effect and additional work created by the nuisance ordinance, he said.
“Do we need standalone code enforcement that we can use without being a burden to taxpayers?” asked King. “It is something to look at. And that would be over everything, building inspections, everything.”
Echoing the sentiments about big box stores were Common Council President Bob Hayes and Vice President Mike Kennedy.
“We are doing their security for them in that sense,” said Kennedy. “If someone calls the police, they have to go. This weekend, one location had police out there five or six times, so three times would be covered there in one day.
“We want to go if someone has a gun, if there’s a car accident in the parking lot. Those are the things the police department needs to go to, not the other things.”
Hayes intimated the council will likely make some changes, but said members won’t back down from big box stores.
“Some cities give more calls, so that is why we have a couple weeks to look at some of this and see where we want to go,” he said. “The intent is to go after those big box stores that are costing us a lot of time, energy and money… We don’t want to let somebody play games with us.”