Justice for neighbors

On August 1, 2006, the City of Sacramento established the Justice for Neighbors (“JFN”) program targeting major physical and criminal nuisances that degrade the quality of life in the City’s neighborhoods.  JFN is a partnership between the City Attorney’s Office and City enforcement officers. The JFN team’s goal is to identify, prioritize, and remedy nuisances before they grow into more serious offenses that can lead to urban decay in our communities.

A public nuisance negatively impacts an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal. The JFN team uses innovative civil, criminal, and administrative remedies to abate public nuisance conditions. These remedies may take the form of a public nuisance lawsuit (e.g., drug abatement or red-light abatement), criminal prosecution, or administrative penalties.

Since August 1, 2006, executive team members of the JFN committee have been meeting once a month to identify, manage, resolve, and publicize the results of the most serious nuisance and security issues affecting the City.  The JFN committee consists of management level employees from the City Attorney’s Office (CAO), Police Department (SPD), Fire Department (SFD), and the Community Development Department’s (CDD), Code Enforcement, Housing and Dangerous Buildings, and Animal Care Services Divisions.

The JFN team investigates physical and social nuisances, including drug dealing, human trafficking, and serious security threats.  Initial calls for service are directly handled by SPD, CDD, or SFD and are often resolved through meetings with the neighborhood associations, property owners, and aggrieved parties. On occasion, the enforcement departments issue administrative penalties to property owners and tenants to gain compliance.

The City Attorney’s Office does not receive or intake calls for police service or code enforcement complaints from members of the public.  If a person is experiencing an emergency, the person must call 911. For non-emergency police complaints or concerns contact SPD at (916) 808-5471. For code enforcement complaints or questions about City services contact the 311 Call Center at 311 or (916) 808-5011. For 311 information go to https://www.cityofsacramento.org/Information-Technology/311