Officer Moves In, Drug Dealers Move Out

Officer Beall in front of his new home

Officer Rob Beall of the Great Falls Police Department was very familiar with the neighborhood where he purchased his home. The neighborhood had numerous crime related issues, and Officer Beall knew what he was buying when he purchased the house across the street from suspected drug dealers. The Police Department had been watching the house very carefully because of suspicious activity and they suspected that the occupants were using the house to sell drugs. After Officer Beall purchased his home using HUD's Officer Next Door Program, he would often go home for lunch in his cruiser. Seeing that their new neighbor was a police officer, it wasn't long before the drug dealers moved out of the neighborhood. Another house on the same block had similar suspicious drug activity and those occupants soon left the neighborhood. Public safety does improve when police officers live in a neighborhood. Officer Beall says that he has already remodeled his kitchen and is working on the bathrooms and will eventually remodel the outside as well. He paid $32,000 for his home and he recently had it appraised for $75,000. His response, "WOW, what a great deal!"

The Officer Next Door Program allows full-time, sworn law enforcement officers to purchase certain HUD owned properties at a 50% discount. The homes must be located in approved Revitalization Areas and are listed and sold over the Internet. The Officer Next Door Program helps build stronger and safer communities and helps make the goal of homeownership faster and more affordable for law enforcement officers.

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