While Menlo Park saw a significant decrease in violent crime this past year, property crimes have increased slightly. The police department is taking a more proactive approach to address problem areas by focusing on quality of life issues and the underlying causes of problems. A contemporary crime prevention concept is the “broken window theory,” which suggests that maintaining and monitoring properties to prevent crimes, like vandalism and loitering, will help to stop crimes that are more serious by creating an environment of order and lawfulness. 

Code enforcement and community service officers will address some of these quality of life issues by informing residents of visible municipal code violations at their property. They will not be conducting any property inspections, but will be educating homeowners about municipal codes. Beginning next week, door hangers will be left at properties where a code violation exists, to inform the resident or business owner of the violation. 

The expectation is that the homeowner or the property owner will correct the violation voluntarily. The resident will have 30 days to fix the violation. After 30 days, officers will check for compliance. If the problem persists, then issuance of a formal code violation to the property owner will occur.