The North Miami Police Department, code enforcement teams and even parks and recreation are joining forces in what are being called “building inspection sweeps.” The city says going in together as a team helps streamline code enforcement.
Three months ago, the roof of an apartment building in North Miami collapsed, displacing over 250 people from their homes. Though that was not the impetus for creating this coalition, city representatives said they learned from the accident.
North Miami Police’s Major Robert Bage says the reason the police department got involved was an additional concern about crime.
"We’ve noticed that a lot of time buildings that are not as clean or are not as aesthetically pleasing is where a lot of the criminal elements like to go," Bage says. “Because they feel that people in the building don’t really care. So we really also want to attack the aesthetics of the building.”
The new teams have swept four buildings so far, all of which had violations.
In addition to forming these new teams, the city is working to update all of its code, which regulates minimum housing standards. Aside from a few changes, those standards established in the early 1960s.