Page 12 - Florida Sentinel 5-6-22

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
IVANIA
This week’s Spotlight feature, Ivania, always comes prepared for an opportunity. Never camera shy, Iva- nia is ready to embark on the next chapter of her life, and can see nothing but success for herself and her future. She also understands the rewards of hard work, and she’s willing to make all the sacrifices to make her dream a reality. Congratulations to Ivania as this week’s Spotlight feature.
Tampa Housing Program Under Investigation By The Department Of Justice
The Tampa Police Department's "Crime Free Multi-Housing" program is under investiga- tion by the Department of Justice. The pro- gram ceased last December over controversaries and complaints of misuse. The program had police alerting landlords to crimes allegedly committed by their tenants.
One of the main complaints was that officers encouraged landlords to evict tenants – in- cluding ones whose charges were dropped.
The city has a new program, Tampa S.A.F.E
(Safety Awareness for Everyone), designed to address the shortcomings of the previous sys- tem.
The new Tampa S.A.F.E. program takes a passive approach at encouraging "crime-free" housing by teaching landlords how to search arrest records, rather than have police inform them of their tenants' arrests directly.
"The U.S. Department of Justice has initi-
ated an investigation of the old Crime Free ini- tiative to ensure that that program did not vi- olate the Fair Housing Act by making unavailable or denying housing units. The Jus- tice Department has acknowledged that the City of Tampa terminated the Crime Free ini- tiative before its review began," stated city of- ficials.
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