2007 Award Winners > 2007 MetLife Foundation Awards - Community Safety Case Book Neighborhood Revitalization
Just north of the city center of Charlotte, North Carolina is the neighborhood of Druid Hills, a community that struggled with drug activity and drug-related violence up until a few years ago. To address the persistent crime problems in the neighborhood and unite the community to take action to reclaim their neighborhood, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership, a non-profit housing development and finance corporation, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department collaborated as part of a Neighborhood Action Team which addressed a variety of problems including crime, poor housing stock, and poor neighborhood infrastructure. The Team involves city departments including Police, Neighborhood Development and Engineering, as well as non-profit service providers and neighborhood residents. Team members successfully coordinated their activities on what started as separate projects and leveraged each other’s resources to work together toward the revitalization goals. Police officers were heavily involved in developing the communications networks that facilitated the partnerships among the involved agencies as well as with the community. Results include a measurable drop in crime, reduced blight, improved traffic patterns, new affordable housing and greater economic vibrancy in Druid Hills. Olneyville Housing Corporation & Providence Police Department After years of neglect, the Olneyville section of Providence, Rhode Island had changed from an area populated by mills fueling the local economy to a neighborhood dominated by abandoned mills and vacant lots inhabited by drug-users and prostitutes. A diverse set of stakeholders including the Olneyville Housing Corporation (OHC) and Providence Police Department came together and worked to advance a comprehensive revitalization agenda that has transformed what had been a crime ridden, abandoned section of the city into a healthy, vibrant neighborhood. Strategies included using the principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design to guide rehabilitation of a polluted riverbank area that was a haven for criminals into a family-friendly, nine-acre park. In addition, OHC acquired vacant lots and problem properties with police assistance and transformed them into attractive, affordable homes. Creative partnerships with the Providence Police Department at all stages of this five year process have been critical to the efforts' success. In addition to the neighborhood's physical revitalization, crime is down dramatically in the immediate project area and problem-solving partnerships between police and community organizations are now part of the regular course of business in Olneyville. Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix & Phoenix Police Department The Garfield Neighborhood is a diverse, historic front-porch community in the heart of downtown Phoenix. In the mid-1990s, Garfield had many deteriorated houses and vacant lots, poor quality rental units and drop houses for illegal immigrants. Crime problems included drugs and prostitution and a gang that was "taxing" people to live in the area. Through collaborative partnerships between the Phoenix Police Department, Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix, Maricopa County, many City of Phoenix departments and neighborhood associations, the Garfield neighborhood has become a success story rising above overwhelming blight and crime to bring a new life of cultural diversity and hope to an urban neighborhood. The partners developed a revitalization strategy which included: closing drug houses, instituting gang deterrence measures, improving the housing stock, installing sidewalks and curbs, paving streets and engaging residents to become involved in saving their neighborhood. The strategy resulted in a significant drop in crime and improvement in neighborhood health. Over the Rhine Revitalization Corporation, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful & Cincinnati Police Department In recent years, Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine (OTR), a poor neighborhood located in the heart of the city, has been plagued with heavy drug use and trafficking, homicides, poverty and a loss of businesses and economic resources. Working with community organizations including Keep Cincinnati Beautiful and the Over-the-Rhine Revitalization Corporation, the Cincinnati Police Department initiated a high visibility police problem-solving effort that drew on partnerships between city and community agencies, neighborhood groups and private businesses to bring resources to identified “hot spot” areas in the neighborhood. The collaborative approach allowed the Police Department to utilize crime analysis to identify high crime areas and work with citizens to strategically direct police resources, while a CDC and other community organizations rehabilitated abandoned and underutilized properties and beautified streetscapes and greenspaces. The impact of strategic police enforcement, coupled with targeted economic development efforts produced a significant reduction in drug activity and related violent crime and substantially increased economic viability in this community. Jefferson East Business Association & Detroit Police Department Three years ago, the Jefferson commercial district and residential community, located in the lower eastside of Detroit, struggled with increasing crime and disinvestment that contributed to a 50% vacancy rate. To tackle this problem, the Jefferson East Business Association (JEBA), a group founded by concerned eastside Detroit residents and business owners, implemented a series of successful community safety, economic development and neighborhood beautification initiatives to make the area more secure and attractive for visitors, residents and businesses. In partnership with the Detroit Police Department and other stakeholders including schools, merchants and churches, JEBA's Clean and Safe program has addressed blight, abandoned buildings, graffiti, and public safety in the targeted business district. The immediate fourteen-block commercial district in which JEBA conducted code enforcement crime prevention, beautification activities and development strategies, consists of approximately 60 retail, service and institutional businesses and/or buildings. JEBA's work has improved the security and aesthetics of the area by creating a cohesive shopping district, a pedestrian-friendly environment and new green public spaces. In addition, development investments and environmental transformations anchored the area which has subsequently led to the revitalization of the adjoining residential areas. Lawrenceville United & City of Pittsburgh Police Department To confront an increase in prostitution, drug-related crime, poverty, and substandard housing conditions in the Upper Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, Lawrenceville United (LU) created its Public Safety program to coordinate and lead efforts to eliminate crime and blight, empower residents to affect neighborhood change, and to spur public and private reinvestment in the Lawrenceville community. LU utilizes a two-pronged approach: awareness and intervention to target drug violations, prostitution and vandalism in the target neighborhoods. Partnerships with the Pittsburgh Police Department and building inspectors are key to all stages of implementation. Specific strategies include: testifying at judicial hearings for property owners charged with housing code violations and other crimes; lobbying the City to expedite graffiti removal in highly visible areas; educating landlords of community expectations and responsibilities; and working with agencies including the local housing authority, Lawrenceville CDC and the US Attorney's office to increase economic development and promote public safety. LU's work with the police and other partners has yielded notable drops in crime and improvements in neighborhood quality of life, in addition to helping to garner resources such as Department of Justice Weed & Seed funding. Special StrategyCommunity AestheticsHomeSight HomeSight, a Community Development Corporation in Southeast Seattle, is the main partner in the 'Curbing Crime One Street at a Time' project, a strategic effort to increase real and perceived neighborhood safety and reduce crime through revitalization activities and community building. The program incorporates enhancement projects that integrate people- and place- based strategies that physically improve the neighborhood while simultaneously empowering community members and strengthening their social networks. The program employs three strategies: promote infrastructure repair; encourage regular litter removal; and support artistic enhancement. By promoting infrastructure repair, the CSI program addresses problems with neighborhood streets and sidewalks that require attention by municipal agencies. In particular, this strategy has been aimed at repairing sidewalks, installing curbs, and reconfiguring bus shelters. Regular litter removal provides a constant reminder that people care for the neighborhood, in spite of others negligence. Artistic enhancements, like decorative banners and an attractive kiosk, make great accessories and contribute to the neighborhood's unique character. The program has resulted in increased resident participation due to empowerment gained through completing tangible neighborhood revitalization projects and increased trust in police and other city agencies efforts. Diversity Inclusion & IntegrationMercy Housing Colorado Reducing and preventing crime in neighborhoods with diverse immigrant populations is a uniquely challenging endeavor. Often the sheer number of languages spoken by residents can hinder broad-based community organizing and positive police-community interaction. In addition, immigrants who fear deportation or recall negative experiences with law enforcement in their countries of origin may be reluctant to report crime or otherwise work with police to improve neighborhood safety. In Denver, Colorado, the Denver Police Department and an affordable housing and services provider called Mercy Housing Colorado are trailblazing creative approaches to respond to these challenges. This case study describes their approach to fostering dialogue between immigrant community leaders and police, with end results including a safety training curriculum and programming tailored for a very diverse resident population. Results include a notable decrease in crime and improved trust of law enforcement among community members—both of which have translated into more efficient and effective use of police resources. Their work earned a 2007 MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Award for Diversity Inclusion and Integration. Drug Market DisruptionOriginal Aurora Renewal Drug markets have many damaging effects on urban neighborhoods, ranging from gun violence and risks for youth playing outside to thwarted economic development and reduced property values. While many anti-drug campaigns focus on drug use prevention and treatment, other programs are working to pair law enforcement with residents, non-profits and businesses to spawn economic development in areas afflicted by drug markets while making these very neighborhoods less attractive for dealers and abusers to inhabit. This is the framework for the Colfax Corridor Weed & Seed initiative in Aurora, Colorado, profiled in this case study as a recipient of a 2007 MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Award for its exemplary Drug Market Disruption strategy. Led by the Original Aurora Renewal Division, the Aurora Police Department and more than 20 other public and private agencies, the Colfax Corridor Weed & Seed leveraged support from the U.S. Department of Justice to destabilize a once flourishing local drug market. The target neighborhood that is now characterized by a growing arts community, engaged residents and far safer streets. Gang Prevention & Youth SafetyThe Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence and the Providence Police Department The Institute's Nonviolence Streetworkers Program is focused on promoting, educating, and training members of the community, professionals, and agencies in the methods of nonviolence related to Gang Prevention & Youth Safety. Through its trainers and streetworkers, the project influences and impacts youth, families, victims, perpetrators, schools, hospitals, and other nonprofits in the community. They make daily visits to middle and high schools, provide court advocacy, visit juveniles in the detention center, assist high risk youth with employment searches and provide conflict mediation. Streetworkers are recruited from the diverse groups that make up our city's landscape, affording ex-offenders the opportunity to serve and save their own communities. The Streetworkers represent a group of diverse individuals whose work has become critical to community organizations combating youth gang violence, one of the biggest supporters and partners being the Providence Police Department. Weekly meetings with the Providence Police command staff and Providence Police school resource officers, close contact and referrals from the Providence Police gang unit, as well as from Providence Police Districts, and from detectives has allowed both organizations to work together while creating safer neighborhoods for the youth. The Institute goes beyond its daily work of reducing gang violence by also effectively impacting strategy and policies in the state, and in the capital city of Providence by their involvement with organizations such as the Rhode Island Child Death Review Board, the After School Alliance, The Mayor's Substance Abuse council, and the Providence Police Advisory Board. The Institute currently staffs thirteen outreach Streetworkers. The program has been widely recognized for its successful and innovative model. School SafetyLatino Community Center and the Milwaukee Police Department The School Safety Improvement Project, based at a public, central-city school targets students considered to be "chronic disruptors." The youth are referred to the program in an attempt to keep them connected to their school, their family, and their community by offering targeted and tailored social services. Social workers from the school, law enforcement officers, and gang prevention workers from the Latino Community Center work together to prevent the escalation of the youths' behavior into more high-risk/illegal activities resulting in significant improvements in their school participation and a decrease in criminal behavior. The partners work together with youth using an internal approach that creates a community support system for students, preventing youth with minor offenses from getting caught up in the criminal justice system. Program staff go beyond school walls to work with families to clear up problems at home such as lack of food, clothing or heat while building relationships with area nonprofits, connecting youth to after-school programs for needed community services. The programs successful strategies include early identification of chronic disruptors, comprehensive mentoring services and effective relationship building between youth, families, school and law enforcement officials. |
|
|
|
|
