Police call on landlords to get in ‘PLACE’

The PLACE (Police, Landlords And Community Engagement) initiative, will see neighbourhood police create a database of local landlord and tenant details.

Police can then use the information to contact landlords in the case of an emergency or in relation to issues with a vacant house or tenants of a rented property.

Police say this contact is vital if, for example, an unoccupied home has been damaged and police need to quickly speak to the owner to secure it. Or if, in the case of a rented property, police believe that the property is being used for illegal purposes such as cultivating cannabis or from which to sell stolen goods.

Inspector Alison Ferguson thinks the scheme will benefit the community of a whole, not just police and landlords.

“No one wants to live in an area with problem neighbours or on a street with a damaged or vandalised empty house. This scheme will help us address these types of issues more quickly as part of our commitment to policing in a professional, personal and protective way,” she says.

Landlords can sign up to the scheme by emailing police with their details including landlord’s name & contact details and property address to Ballymenalandlord[email protected]