The Forest Hills Connection today published a story confirming that the DC Metropolitan Police Department has asked Attorney General Karl Racine issue a letter to Equity Residential demanding that it tighten building security to prevent serious crime, or risk prosecution and possible designation as a “nuisance property.”

The commander of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Second District has reported three Van Ness and Forest Hills apartment buildings to the division of the Office of the Attorney General that handles “nuisance” properties because they have not implemented recommendations that could curtail problems that lead to many police service calls.

At a December 16th public meeting, 2D Commander Duncan Bedlion said that police look for patterns when a building is generating a large number of calls for service. MPD works with building owners and managers to do a security assessment and make recommendations. Often, he says, the buildings are quick to implement MPD suggestions. Some are not.

“If they do not follow them and we continue to see violent crime or narcotic-related crime we notify our partners at the Office of Attorney General, those that specifically work at the “nuisance building” section,” Bedlion said.

*Note: An earlier version of this web page claimed the the Metropolitan District Police asked the DC Attorney General to designate 3003 Van Ness as a “nuisance property.” Later research revealed that action by the OAG would require Equity to tighten security because of frequent and serious crimes that had taken place on the property. If OAG gave Equity Residential such a warning and it then failed to tighten security satisfactorily, the OAG could file suit against the company, possibly leading to the Superior Court designating Equity Residential a “nuisance property.”

Nevertheless, the complaint by the Metropolitan District Police to the Attorney General is an astounding blow to Equity Residential, which markets itself as a provider of high-end apartments in major U.S. cities.