When squatters moved in next door, neighborhood got angry when law enforcement response was limited | New

“I talk to the neighbors saying, ‘do you see something? “” she said of the events, which started about a month ago. “One of them appears and says, ‘Oh no, there are homeless people breaking in. They go through the side door. ‘ “

Conflicts on the county island near the intersection of Stockdale Highway and California Avenue began soon after. The front yard of the property was flooded when unknown neighbors turned on the water to the house. A verbal confrontation with the squatters ensued. But despite calls to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, no arrests have been made as the true owner of the house is unclear.

Smith suspects the house is now known as “bando,” an abandoned house that becomes a magnet for unwanted guests.

“Right in the middle of Central America, breaking into houses, into abandoned homes is a trend, and if you can score one where the utilities are still on, apparently that’s the big score,” she declared. “It’s a nightmare in my life.

For seasoned officials, squatters in abandoned houses are not a particularly new phenomenon. They say the problem has also not increased with the increase in homelessness seen across the state and country in recent years.

But despite the widespread understanding that squatting is a persistent problem, law enforcement admits enforcement can be difficult if the owner of the property cannot be located.

“As long as there are vacant residences there is this problem,” said the Bakersfield Police Department sergeant. Robert Pair. “If we show up and it’s obvious, like you have a situation where people have no papers and the front door has crashed … and we can get a hold of someone. who is a stakeholder in the property, we’ll arrest someone for trespassing.It’s when there are a lot of factors that the truth is hard to establish, that’s where it becomes a problem.

Kern County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Danielle Kernkamp said MPs are often sent to abandoned residences for theft from utilities and other quality of life issues and attempt to resolve the situation only to that complaints return shortly after their departure.

In Kern County, code compliance officers deal frequently with residents of vacant homes. The number of complaints has remained stable in recent years, said Al Rojas, code compliance officer for the county department.

Officers look for violations by checking to see if the space is habitable. Does it have heat and water? Are the inputs and outputs functional? If unsafe living conditions are present, code compliance can be reduced, which resolves any identified issues.

However, if these issues are not present and agents cannot locate the owner, even code compliance encounters the same issues as law enforcement.

“As long as they have the utilities and there are no obvious code violations, there is nothing we can enforce,” Rojas said.

Still, he encouraged county residents to call nuisance complaints at 661-862-8603. Residents of the town of Bakersfield can dial 661-326-3712.

“The sooner you let us know, the sooner we can start to act,” he said. “We are a service reserved for complaints. “

For Smith and his neighbors, the incident highlights a legislative failure. She said she felt less secure in her home and believed government departments should be able to sort out issues with unwanted guests. In addition, she considers that the problems of her neighborhood have growth potential.

“It’s not isolated,” she said. “And since we have an aging population that doesn’t leave their homes, and reverse mortgages and taxes owed on properties, and COVID where people can’t track properties, if that’s the start, I don’t want to see the middle or the end.