Housing Crisis Foreclosures, Very Popular With Teen Parties
“With the increasing number of homes being foreclosed upon, what we’re finding is people vacate these homes, other people are coming in and using these homes, often times for parties and gatherings,” said David Keith of the Oxnard Police Department.
Police said the parties can involve alcohol, drugs and sometimes more, KNBC’s Gordon Tokumatsu reported.
“I want to know if somebody’s doing drugs. I want to know if there’s a child molester in there,” said Oxnard resident and chairman of the inter-neighborhood council forum, Joe Avelar.
Avelar said he takes it upon him
self to keep an eye on foreclosures in his south Oxnard community.
Keith said other residents may want to follow Avelar’s lead.
“If you have one of these homes in your neighborhood, and you see anything suspicious going on around that home — people hanging around that home, or certainly if you see anybody inside the home — please give us a call. We want to go out there and take care of this problem,” Keith said.
Keith said that although the problem is being seen in Oxnard, other communities should be aware of the growing trend.
“…I suspect (the problem) is much greater than the city of Oxnard. It’s happening probably everywhere,” Keith said.
In Ventura County, Oxnard accounted for one-third of the foreclosures last year.