Sheriffs' Office
Preventing
Drug Labs on Your Property
Tips for
Landlords:
Methamphetamine
Provided
by The Cheyenne Meth Initiative.
The Costs
to Rental Property
When drug criminals operate out of rental property, owners pay a high price:
- Civil penalties,
including loss of property use
- Damaged
property from renter abuse and police raids
- Loss of
rent due to eviction and repair operations
- Decline
in property values
- Toxic contamination
and/or fire from meth production
- Dangerous,
threatening tenants
- Resentful
and angry neighbors*
You Can
Prevent Big Problems!
At the
time of application, take three easy steps.
1. Ensure
the application is complete
2. Conduct
a background check to determine:
- Rental
history
- Credit
report
- Employment
history
- Criminal
background
3. Meet
every adult moving into the unit and require a picture identification*
Visit
your property and watch for signs of a drug lab.
- Unusual
strong chemical odors
- Excessive
amounts of trash, specific to making meth (chemical containers,
empty cans of paint, red-stained cloth, duct tape rolls)
- Blackened
windows or drawn curtains
- Extensive
security or attempts to ensure privacy
- Frequent
visitors at all hours of the day or night
- Renters
who pay in cash**
These are the FACTS:
Over
one-half of residential drug labs are found on rental property
Property
owners are responsible for decontamination
costs
Decontamination
costs average $6500 for a 1200 sq. ft. home****
Labs
put kids at risk!
- A
child living at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory
faces serious health and safety risks.
- Chemical
contamination.
- Inhaling,
absorbing, or swallowing toxic chemicals that are used
to produce meth can cause severe sickness, death, and birth
defects.
- Fires
and explosions.
- Approximately
15% of meth labs are discovered as a result of a fire or
explosion.
- Abuse
and neglect.
- Children
living in meth labs are at increased risk for severe neglect
and physical or sexual abuse.
- Hazardous
lifestyle. Filth and hazardous living conditions are common
at meth labs.
- Explosives,
guns, and booby traps have been found at sites.
- Social
problems.
- A
violent, chaotic, and neglectful environment causes stress
and trauma.
- Many
children that live in drug-using homes exhibit social and
relationship problems. ***
If
you suspect a meth lab on your property:
- Contact
your local police or sheriff's office
- If
it's an emergency, dial 911
Do
not enter a site that you think may be a clandestine meth
lab!
Labs
that are used for producing meth are dangerous.
- Meth
labs may have traps set up
- Explosions
or fires could occur
- You
could be exposed to hazardous chemicals
For
more information:
www.drugfree.org/meth
For
more information contact:
Cheyenne-Laramie County Meth Initiative
Box 371
Cheyenne, WY 82003
E-mail
Emergency
Numbers
Cheyenne,
Wyoming Police Dept.
(307) 637-6521
Laramie
County Sheriff's Office
(307) 633-4700
Department
of Family Services
(307) 777-7921
Websites
The
MFiles: www.mfiles.org
National
Drug Intelligence Center
www.usdoj.gov/ndic
National
Institute on Drug Abuse
www.drugabuse.gov
InfoFacts:
Methamphetamine
www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/methamphetamine.html
National
Drug Intelligence Center
www.usdoj.gov/ndic
Office
of National Drug Control Policy
www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
The
Partnership for a Drug-Free America
www.drugfree.org
Wyoming
State Department of Health
Substance Abuse Division
http://wdh.state.wy.us/SAD
Brochure
References
*
Landlord Training Program. Campbell Delong Resources, Inc.
http://www.cdri.com/LandlordTraining/LTPNat4_0.pdf
**What are the Signs of a Meth Lab? Meth Fact
Sheet.
The
Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
http://www.drugfree.org/Files/Meth_Fact_Sheets ***Dangers
to Children Living at Meth Labs.
Governor's
Office of Criminal Justice and Planning, n.d.,
Multi-Agency
Partnerships:
Linking
Drugs and Child Endangerment,
Sacramento,
CA, p.9. www.ojp.usdoj.gov
****Washington
State Dept. of Health. Div. Of Environmental Health.
Office
of Environmental Health and Safety. www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/CDL/ |
