Armed code enforcement

by mike austin
(idyllwild ca)

Visitor Question: Why are code enforcement carrying fire arms? This is in Riverside County, California.

Editors Reply: This is not typical throughout the U.S., although with the amount of firearms in the hands of the public, I suppose some jurisdictions will feel they have to protect their staff members.

As I frequently do on this website, I suggest that you ask a direct question about this. The head of the code enforcement office should be able to give you an accurate answer and do so in a courteous manner.

If you have tried that already and did not receive an answer, a different approach is to ask the police department or sheriff's office how county officials are able to carry firearms while on duty.

Another possibility is that the police department or deputy sheriffs actually double as code enforcement officers. A preliminary look at the website does not indicate this, but the website is not too robust either. Where I live, the police do code enforcement, and yes, they carry guns while they do so.

Nudging code enforcement in the direction of conventional law enforcement is a bad move, in my opinion. Code enforcement has historically been a civil matter in this country, with civil penalties involved unless and until the situation becomes drastic because a property owner defies code enforcement and a judge in multiple ways. I hope it stays that way.

If you are asking because you think armed code enforcement officers make it more likely that neighborhood disputes would erupt into violence, I agree with you. It sets up an adversarial relationship with the property owner, whereas I like the problem solving approach.

If you read the code enforcement overview page of this website, you will find that we are big proponents of seeing the goal of code enforcement as compliance and not punishment. Until proven otherwise, I always advised the code enforcement officers working out of my office to assume the best about the property owner. After all, the twin reasons behind most code violations are ignorance of the law (or the basics of property maintenance) and lack of money (or perceiving lack of affordability) to address repairs.

Both of these motives for code violation are best addressed in a friendly matter, at least until willful defiance is involved.

Now we come to some observations about the general climate of distrust, and specifically distrust in government, in this county. Some percentage of the property owners who have code violations are belligerent from the start. They receive a code enforcement warning or letter, and right away they explode in anger. This makes code enforcement officers fearful, and many of them instantly put up their defenses and become aggressive themselves.

It is incredibly important that supervisors of code officers offer emotional support and periods of respite from the stresses of code enforcement. The entire county government should be embracing the idea that we want to bring people into compliance, and that building and property maintenance codes should not be vehicles for harassment.

I hope you will continue to ask questions and do your part to lower the temperature so that perhaps those in power will not feel they have to arm code enforcement officers.

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