2010 Award Winners Neighborhood Revitalization
The historic Waverly neighborhood is the oldest African-American community in Columbia, South Carolina. By the 1990s, the once prosperous area had become full of abandoned housing, drug dealers, and prostitutes. Formerly-thriving businesses served as gathering places for crime. In an effort to address crime and simultaneously spur economic development, the Columbia Housing Development Corporation (CHDC), TN Development Corporation and the Columbia Police Department came together to create a two-fold revitalization plan. One part involved reclaiming abandoned lots, houses and businesses, and transforming them into affordable homes and viable commercial entities. The other part involved establishing a Koban—a police service model coming from Japan—in which uniformed police officers moved into an abandoned home in the neighborhood to increase police presence, combat crime and improve community-police relations. Officers resided on the top floor of a home and converted the ground floor into community space where neighborhood associations held regular meetings. This level of neighborhood engagement built community trust, which led to a significant increase in the reporting of illegal activity. Committed to developing the area, CHDC started purchasing residential properties and vacant lots in the community. In total, 14 properties were purchased and redeveloped; 13 of the 14 have been sold. Over the past 10 years, crime has decreased dramatically in Waverly, with violent crime down 88%, prostitution down 57%, and drug violations down 66%. Chelsea Neighborhood Developers (CND) and the Chelsea Police Department Working closely with the Chelsea Police Department, Chelsea Neighborhood Developers led a partnership that has achieved significant results in two adjacent distressed areas in Chelsea, Massachusetts: the Box District and North Bellingham Hill. With strong support from the City, neighborhood residents and a private for-profit developer, this partnership has leveraged $50.7M of investment in affordable and market-rate housing, as well as street level infrastructure investments resulting in measurable improvements to the quality of neighborhood conditions and safety. The collaborative has fostered new levels of trust and cooperation between a very diverse low-income citizenry and municipal and law enforcement leaders. As one example, the chief of police has sat alongside residents in multiple community planning sessions; he has subsequently altered officer deployment patterns based on neighbors’ interests and goals. Responding to the negative impact of the foreclosure crisis in this community, the partnership had a critical focus on physical investments dealing with the rehabilitation of foreclosed properties and code enforcement, another strategic element which is of high learning value to CSI practitioners around the country. Hilltop Action Coalition and Tacoma Police DepartmentProject Name: Hilltop Action Coalition: Police Partnership for Safe and Thriving Neighborhoods Tacoma, WA Hilltop Action Coalition (HAC), one of the many programs housed under Associated Ministries, is an engaged group of civic leaders who have, since 1989, worked to take on the criminals, drug dealers and gang members of the Hilltop neighborhood in Tacoma, Washington. HAC has developed two core strategies to revitalize Hilltop, which has frequently made national news for its number of drive-by shootings, gang and drug activities and neighborhood blight. HAC promotes an aggressive “know and watch thy neighbor” philosophy matched with a systematic network of communication with local police, public works and public utilities. It also actively encourages and facilitates neighbor-to-neighbor activism, with support provided by a safety coordinator who serves as a liaison between HAC, community members and the police. The coalition has grown to over 91 block partners, with 50 to 60 members per block which contribute over 67,000 volunteer hours annually, working alongside police to maintain safety. Members of HAC have produced and distributed hundreds of documents for public information and they have taken a leadership role in a broad community coalition that meets to review neighborhood issues including residential and commercial development plans. The 100-square-block area of the Hilltop neighborhood has witnessed an 81% crime rate reduction since the program inception. The intensive clean-up and commitment to increasing safety for residents by this collaborative partnership has helped nurture revitalization and economic development momentum in this community. Historic King Drive Business Improvement District and Milwaukee Police Department Composed of over 100 businesses along the historic Dr. Martin Luther King Drive in Milwaukee, WI, the Business Improvement District (BID), formed in 1992, strives to make this 1.5 mile commercial corridor a thriving local economy. A strong focus of the BID is public safety and maintenance which is supported through a Public Safety Committee which targets the perceptions and realities of crime, fear and disorder. This committee includes a community liaison officer from the Milwaukee Police Department, two beat patrol officers, residents, business owners and property owners in the district. The ongoing tasks of the Public Safety Committee include monitoring liquor licenses and problem establishments. Committee members also identify where BID resources should be allocated by analyzing crime data collected in the City’s ‘Compass’ database. Similarly, the Milwaukee Police Department has modified officer deployment to advance collaborative goals. Since inception of the partnership, the area has welcomed dozens of new businesses and gained over $200 million worth of new commercial and residential development, due in part to drops in real crime and improvements in how the area is perceived. Green Doors and the Austin Police Department Green Doors, a supportive housing developer and community builder in Austin, Texas, has a long history of embracing broad stakeholder participation in its revitalization efforts. This extends to the Austin Police Department, which has been intimately involved in Green Doors’ initiatives including the recent rehabilitation of Pecan Springs Commons, an 8-unit housing development that was transformed in a notoriously high-crime location due to the collaborative efforts of Green Doors, the Austin Police and their partners. Since Green Doors and the Austin Police began collaborating in this intentional way, there has been a 42% decrease in overall crime, an estimated 95% decrease in open-air prostitution and the abatement of numerous drug houses. As part of a long-term strategy to advance neighborhood well-being, the Austin Police have been working with Green Doors to convince absentee landlords to surrender control of their properties. The collaboration has facilitated the responsible green redevelopment of 70 apartment homes, affecting 180 people at risk of homelessness. This partnership has also brought green building practices to a neighborhood desperately in need of quality affordable housing, resulting in a more attractive, sustainable and desirable place to live. Project for Pride in Living and Minneapolis Police Department Beginning in 2005, the City of Minneapolis experienced a rapidly increasing number of foreclosures coupled with a declining housing market. The City worked with neighborhood organizations in the areas with the highest foreclosure rates to identify clusters that would have a significant impact on the stabilization of the larger community if successfully redeveloped. The Hawthorne EcoVillage, a four block residential area, was identified for targeted redevelopment and Project for Pride in Living (PPL), a nonprofit housing developer, was selected as the lead. The cluster partnership between the City and PPL began with a primary focus on the physical redevelopment activities, but it soon became clear these efforts would not succeed if safety did not improve. Many of the vacant and poorly managed properties were magnets for criminal activity. With PPL support, police and residents worked to crack down on crime through consistent meetings at the neighborhood council office to identify problem properties and illegal activities happening in the area. These combined efforts of crime prevention and community development have dramatically decreased crime in the EcoVillage, taking narcotics arrests down by 85%. The reduction in crime gave the redevelopment partners the confidence to move forward with new development. The EcoVillage continues to utilize neighborhood support for revitalization and has been promoting sustainable, community based redevelopment practices throughout the region. Special Strategy AwardsGang Prevention & Youth SafetyCare Fresno and Fresno Police Department Care Fresno was created by a partnership between the Fresno Police Department, local churches, businesses and apartment complex owners, all of whom were distressed by extreme rates of crime from housing complexes near schools with low academic performance rates. With the goal of reducing recidivism by increasing resident retention and providing enhanced resident services, Care Fresno has spearheaded the development of place-based community centers within apartment complexes. Care Fresno’s community centers attract youth that are the least likely to be in school-based programs and most likely to become involved in gangs and juvenile crime. The centers strategically open for the hours between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., hours that have been proven to be the times when most youth become involved in criminal activity. The centers also provide a venue where young people and police officers can interact on positive terms. As a result of Care Fresno’s after school programming, school attendance, grades and test scores for children have increased significantly. For example, at one site, 33% of young people in the program went up one whole grade level in multiple subjects in less than 6 months. The program has also significantly decreased police service calls in the targeted areas by 25 to 60 percent due in large part to a drop in juvenile crime. STAR/PAL and San Diego Police Department Through collaboration between STAR/PAL and the San Diego Police Department, this partnership effectively brings youth and law enforcement volunteers together through positive mentorship programs and educational activities that include bringing awareness to youth regarding gang involvement. STAR/PAL offers programs that provide crime prevention education, teach new skills and develop new interests utilizing positive role models that include police and probation officers, firefighters and community leaders. The program is targeted at boys and girls, ages 6-17, in inner-city and underserved neighborhoods throughout the City and County of San Diego. All STAR/PAL program directors are law enforcement officers who educate youth through programs that collectively focus on crime prevention, gang activity prevention, conflict resolution, the dangers of drugs and teenage drinking, and sexual assault prevention. The STAR/PAL facility includes community conference rooms, administrative offices for law enforcement officers and staff, and a youth activity building that houses the after-school programs for youth. STAR/PAL serves over 10,000 youth and has had a positive impact on academic progress and the reduction of truancy and crime incidents of participating youth. With the use of their facility and strengthened community partnerships, this partnership has increased city-wide youth services by 10%. Diversity Inclusion & IntegrationMeharry Medical College and Metropolitan Nashville Police Department The El Protector program led by the Metro Nashville Police Department is based on proactive outreach and partnership between the police department and the Hispanic/Latino community in Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. The Nashville Police have partnered with many community organizations as part of the program, who were collectively represented in this application by Meharry Medical College. Through El Protector, Nashville police officers have had a strong presence in the Hispanic community using multi-faceted approaches to improve public safety with a focus on reducing drunk driving citations, traffic fatalities and domestic violence. Community education is a focal point of the program having officers routinely participate in radio talk shows to discuss the dangers of drinking and driving, explain domestic violence laws and answer questions from listeners. In order to further break down barriers between law enforcement officials and the Hispanic community the police department holds several annual events that include a Hispanic community festival, Hispanic Teen Academy and a soccer tournament where they interact with community members outside of their regular police duties. Since inception of the program the number of Hispanic victims of violent crimes has gone down and the program has effectively engaged area business owners and residents in crime prevention efforts through community engagement rather than enforcement measures. Family Services of Rhode Island, Inc. and Providence Police Department The On The Beat Multilingual Police Liaison Program offers a unique collaboration to its community, providing the opportunity for “beat” cops and bilingual social workers to do joint patrols. Operating in a primarily Latino neighborhood with high unemployment and elevated rates of violent crime, the social worker patrols with Providence police officers to intervene in homes and neighborhoods to help families in trouble, prevent violence and protect those who are witness to or victims of violent crime. The social worker is able to serve as a liaison between residents and the police, provide interpretation services, crisis intervention and quick assessments of a victim’s home in order to provide immediate access to additional resources. The program provides 24/7/365 on-scene response by social workers trained in crisis intervention and children’s response to trauma. The program includes outreach and support in many languages, including Spanish, as Family Services is a non-profit strongly rooted in the community. The program has built trust between new immigrants and the police as the social service workers help to educate residents about the role of the police and legal procedures. There has been more cooperation from police in allowing service organizations to perform early crisis intervention before a situation escalates. Since the program has been implemented the Chad Brown neighborhood has seen a decline in gun crimes—down more than 75% in the past year. Burglaries are down 55% and aggravated assaults 77%. Aesthetics & Green Space ImprovementBuilding Blocks for Kids and Richmond Police Department The focus of this partnership was the revitalization of Nevin Park and Community Center located in a high crime and violence area called the Iron Triangle in Richmond, CA. In 2005, the City of Richmond approached financial collapse and closed six senior and community centers, laying off hundreds of employees and closing key programs. The same year, Building Blocks for Kids (BBK), a collaborative of 27 community based and public agencies, was formed to address persistent poverty in the area. Through a collaborative effort of BBK and the Richmond Police, the partnership implemented a Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategy and met with residents, staff and planners to propose changes to the park and surrounding area to transform the neighborhood, through increased surveillance and reinforced community values. The efforts focused on a place-based model so that all partners were investing in the same neighborhood at the same time. Today the Nevin Center is growing to be seen as a safe community hub, where job opportunities, tutorial, fitness, health and recreational activities are available. The frequency of violent incidents has reduced significantly and police calls for service have dropped by 30% within the area. |
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