Scottsdale police have created a new unit that will take on short-term rental enforcement along with a range of neighborhood concerns across the city.
The Scottsdale Police Department announced Wednesday that it has launched the Neighborhood Response Unit, or NRU, a citywide team focused on neighborhood issues, new crime trends and other concerns affecting residents. The department said the unit is intended to handle matters that may not fall under traditional patrol duties but still affect neighborhoods.
A key role for the new unit will be enforcing Scottsdale’s short-term and vacation rental rules. That includes regulations strengthened this summer, when the Scottsdale City Council approved a new ordinance giving police greater authority to shut down problem properties and issue penalties to partygoers and property owners.
Under that ordinance, short-term or vacation rentals cannot be used for events such as weddings, corporate events or large parties. The city also tightened requirements for emergency contacts tied to those properties. Officials said each contact must be available 24/7 by phone or email to respond to complaints and emergencies. If law enforcement requires someone on-site during an emergency, that person must arrive within one hour.
The new NRU brings together Scottsdale’s short-term rental unit and special projects unit, a move the department said will allow it to send more officers and resources where they are needed most, identify problem areas and respond to continuing or emerging issues.
Beyond rental enforcement, the unit’s responsibilities include e-bike and alternative transportation concerns, traffic complaints and problem areas, the downtown safety initiative, solicitor-related activity, emerging neighborhood crime trends, emergency traffic response, and citizen and community-driven concerns.
"SCOTTSDALE, AZ (AZFamily)" was included in the original source article.