Motel Problems?

[The Dude]

I'm in initial recruiting phases for a dept about 70 miles from where I live, so while I was up there for testing the other day I was driving around the area getting a feel for the lay of the land.

I noticed that on what appears to be the main road (big, center of town, road that city hall is on, etc.) is heavily populated by motels. They appear to be mostly no-tell motel fleabag joints, and there are literally about 15 in mile or so on the east west main road, and several off the cross streets. They are one after the other and the primary thing to be found there.

This town is West Sacramento and is just across the river from downtown Sacramento. I don't think it's a particularly high crime area, but probably biusy at times.

I'm just curious about weather or not a high density of motels tends to present any specific type of challenge to law enforcement, weather or not there are types of criminal activity that seem to flourish in that environment. This could be important as the town is not really that big and I saw a sign on my way in proclaiming that they had over 1000 rooms to rent, so come stay, etc. I figure that is a major source of commerce for that town.

[LA DEP]

Depending on the area, the 'no tell motels' attract ALOT of different crimes....

Narcotics, Prostitution, and gang activity to name a few.....

[ChiTownDet]

What LADEP said. In addition, all that criminal activity spreads to the "Stop & Robs," fast food joints, etc., all in the immediate vicinity of the "motel row." The mutts ("Ho's."pimps, dope boys, bangers) that inhabit these motels treat all the above establishments and streets around them like they're own little town. 15 2 hr. nap joints in a mile is an awful lot. Expect to get to know a lot of the desk people in these joints...Bet you'd be surprised at the "landscape" if you drove through in the wee am. hours (just don't catch the eye of the coppers working the area, they may think you're looking for a rock or a date.)

[Seventy2002]

I'm just curious about whether or not a high density of motels tends to present any specific type of challenge to law enforcement, whether or not there are types of criminal activity that seem to flourish in that environment.

It's not so much density but how the motels are maintained and managed. In the area you describe I'd expect drugs, prostitution, fights, thefts ...

[L-1]

In this case its the neighborhood.

West Sac is literally a separate city and in a different county than Sacramento. Back in 1970, it was considered to be the Tijuana of the State Capitol and had more porn shops and hookers per capita than most towns on the west coast. In order to drum up customers, a West Sac port shop called Ben's Book Store sponsored some of the raciest late movies on American television at the time, that ran every Saturday at Midnight

Over the years West Sac has tried to shed its image of sleaze city with little success. It is well known for gang activity, a high concentration of parolees and drug activity.

Should you have occasion to go back, stay across the river in Sacramento. Along Jiboom Street and Bercutt drive you will find a number of decent motels. When you go in, ask for the "State Rate" and you will get a significant discount on your room. No one will ask who you work for and unless you work for a government agency already, just leave the employer information blank on your registration card.

[NORCOCOP]

Problems, not really, that is where almost all of our dope arrests are derived from. The good dope guys run all of the plates and owners keep track of who's got records and such and how long they stay and or leave and come back and score tons of dope and all of the normal accompanying crimes.... It's nice to develop a system, where you get consent to searches on the rooms they are in after the initial contact and usually lots more fun can be had... We have the best results from our long term hotels, but we do not have the pay by the hours types, but at 34.00 a night plenty of them come smoke their crack find a prostitute and leave plenty quickly...

[Fuzz]

There is not a single hotel/motel in my city that I would actually stay at. They are 75% dirtbags and 25% tourists who didnt know any better.