LISC is proud to announce the winners of the 2011 MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Awards. In the tenth year of giving the award, LISC received over 700 applications from around the country. The winners for both the Neighborhood Revitalization category and Special Strategy Awards were selected with the help of an outside review panel of police chiefs and community development leaders. The ten winners clearly articulated examples of community organizations and police departments working together to reduce crime and revitalize neighborhoods. These collaborations achieved significant results and illustrated how the power of purposefully combining community building and crime prevention strategies led to safer communities. We were very encouraged to learn about the diversity of community safety and economic development programs underway across the country, and look forward to disseminating case studies on each of the winners.

Neighborhood Revitalization

Neighborhood Housing Services of Duluth, Spirit Valley Citizens’ Neighborhood Development Association (doing business as West Duluth Community Development Corporation), and the Duluth Police Department
Project Name: At Home in Duluth Neighborhood Revitalization
Duluth, MN

Neighborhood Housing Services of Duluth and Spirit Valley Citizens’ Neighborhood Development Association (SVCNDA) are lead CDCs in "At Home in Duluth"- a collaborative of non-profit organizations and public agencies pursuing comprehensive community development. Each CDC is accountable for coordinating implementation of a revitalization plan developed by residents for a distinct Duluth neighborhood (West Duluth for SVCNDA and Central Hillside for NHS). They have each developed strong working relationships with the Duluth Police Department accordingly, and they have each executed notable safety and economic development projects over the last five years, such as the acquisition of major nuisance properties and the improvement of a blighted commercial corridor. This partnership is receiving joint recognition to highlight the ways that the two organizations joined together with police to advance safety both in their own neighborhoods and citywide. For example, they collectively advocated for city adoption of a Crime Free Multi Housing Ordinance and created a "blight team" that is improving citywide response to vacant property issues. They have also helped police make good use of limited resources via a new Compstat process and a series of citywide crime prevention meetings that have drawn thousands of participants. Their collaboration and willingness to share resources across neighborhoods and with police has enabled the Duluth Police Department to sustain stronger ties with the five core neighborhoods and business districts that the At Home in Duluth collaborative has targeted.

Pawtucket Citizens Development Corporation and the Pawtucket Police Department
Project Name: Barton Street Neighborhood Transformation
Pawtucket, RI

Pawtucket Citizens Development Corporation has been building and rehabilitating affordable housing in the Barton Street neighborhood - a dense, low-income, ethnically diverse neighborhood that spans the Pawtucket/Central Falls city line - since 1995. In addition to the over $20 million dollars that PCDC has invested in affordable housing in this neighborhood, they also reached the fifth year of engaging in a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy called the Barton Street Neighborhood Revitalization Project (BSNRP). Through this program PCDC has converted an abandoned lot into a thriving community garden; an auto repair shop and three problem properties have been torn down and replaced by 14 affordable condominiums and a public tot lot, a free, locally-based afterschool and summer program for neighborhood kids gave children a safe place to spend their out-of-school-time, and neighborhood residents felt connected to and engaged with local police officers in crime prevention efforts. Since 2006 PCDC also worked with their community safety partners to design a project called RENEW (Revitalizing and Engaging Neighborhood by Empowering Women.) The project worked to tackle the most visible, and intransigent crime activity in the neighborhood, prostitution. Using a three-tiered approach, including street outreach, case management and referrals, and HIV prevention education, the project produced dramatic decreases in prostitution arrests in both cities. In Pawtucket, prostitution arrests declined 90% over a five year period. In Central Falls from 2007 - 2008, prostitution arrests declined 73%. Since 2008, the arrests have stayed at that low rate. This data is mirrored by resident and police feedback regarding the improvement in quality of life in the neighborhood. The partnership has also focused on the KeepSpace process encouraging residents and local leaders to work with the Pawtucket and Central Falls Police departments to gather data about foreclosures, and to overlay those foreclosure maps with crime data in order to identify concentrations of distressed properties and public safety nuisances. This has allowed PCDC and other CDCs to target their development to the properties that attract criminal activity. Out of the Keepspace work has grown the "Distressed Properties Subcommittee," which has worked with PCDC's real estate development efforts to physically transform the neighborhood through the preservation and production of affordable, safe and attractive housing.

Blake Road Community Collaborative and the Hopkins Police Department
Project Name: Blake Road Community Collaborative
Hopkins, MN

The Blake Road Community Collaborative grew out of a need to revitalize the Blake Road Corridor in Hopkins, Minnesota, which was plagued by violent crime and disorder, an increasing number of foreclosed and vacant businesses and a desperate lack of residential hope. The police, in partnership with Resource West and ICA Foodshelf, talked with residents and business owners, conducted overtime patrol in the neighborhoods, and met with housing inspectors to strengthen the property code for nuisance and disorderly behavior. Initially, communication presented itself as a major challenge, causing the collaborative to take on creative approaches such as creating a neighborhood blog in order to get the word and their efforts out. As a result, four Neighborhood Watch groups formed and the pocket park, once a haven for gang members and criminal activity, was taken back by neighbors and park cleanups began. Business owners took part in the revitalization by helping with litter that lined the streets and acted as a virtual Business Watch, alerting police when suspicious activity occurred. Overall, the 25% drop in crime has been significant allowing for new businesses to appear in the community.

CommUniverCity San Jose, City of San Jose Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, San Jose Police Department
Project Name: Union Pacific Railroad Redevelopment Area – No Wrong Side of the Tracks
San Jose, CA

The McKinley and Olinder neighborhoods in San Jose, California, represent two low-income communities that until recently were two geographically divided neighborhoods. The area, considered a heavy industrial site, had been abandoned by the Union Pacific Railroad Company in 2002 leading to rampant crime in the form of illegal dumping, gang activity, prostitution, and drug dealing. The City of San Jose Strong Neighborhoods Initiative invested in significant infrastructure improvements, including street improvements and a shopping center renovation which prompted KB Homes to show interest in acquiring the abandoned railroad site for a development. KB Homes proposed building a series of homes in the form of a long, narrow cul-de-sac enclosed by a concrete wall. However, the community envisioned an opportunity to integrate the two neighborhoods and proposed KB Homes utilize CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) elements rather than wall off the neighborhood. Through Strong Neighborhoods, a plan was put in place to unite new and old residents in the larger neighborhood around the themes of integration, community and safety. From 2008 to 2010, the communities experienced a 17% decrease in overall crime incidents, a 34% decline in gang-related incidents, and a $4.8 million public investment in infrastructure improvements based on CPTED concepts. The intensive revitalization efforts of this collaboration not only made the MicKinley and Olinder neighborhoods much safer, they were also able to unite two historically divided communities.

CityWide Development and the Dayton Police Department
Project Name: The Phoenix Project
Dayton, OH

When the Fairview neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio began declining, the impact was felt by residents who began to question their investments and the future of the neighborhood. Good Samaritan Hospital (GSH), the area's largest employer, was also very concerned about the condition of the neighborhood and its impact on patient choice, the safety of visitors to their facility and their ability to recruit and retain staff. In 2004 the Phoenix Investors, CityWide Development Corporation, Good Samaritan Hospital, the City of Dayton, particularly, the Dayton Police Department created a comprehensive vision for revitalization based upon neighborhood stability and capacity building. The Dayton Police enhanced night time patrols and two full-time officers were assigned to the project area. The important relationship between the police and residents resulted in a dramatic drop in major crime, which is down 45% since 2005. Further, strong relationships between officers and neighborhood residents and a zero-tolerance policy for all infractions have greatly improved neighborhood civility. Additionally, CityWide has been able to demolish obsolete and nuisance structures, replacing these crime haven properties with over 100 units of new housing and a new educational facility. The new school has been strategically linked to an existing park and outdoor pool to provide broader wellness and recreation opportunities for students and families. The Phoenix Project has also been hard at work revitalizing Salem Avenue with landscaping, lighting, decorative fencing, benches and neighborhood identity signs signaling to the larger community that revitalization is well underway.

Special Strategies

Gang Prevention & Youth Safety

The Boston Foundation, Inc. and the Boston Police Department
Project Name: StreetSafe Boston
Boston, MA

The Boston Foundation’s StreetSafe Boston initiative is a violence prevention and intervention program aimed at reducing the incidence of gang-involved shootings and youth homicides in five Boston neighborhoods where the majority of shootings and homicides occur. Through street-level violence interruption and conflict mediation by trained Streetworkers, and a provision of neighborhood based services, StreetSafe Boston is focused on building relationships with proven high-risk youth – or known violent offenders – in order to guide them away from violence and toward positive alternatives, and to restore a sense of safety and improve the future outlook for the focus communities. Through pooled intelligence with law enforcement and community partners, the StreetSafe team has identified the top riskiest youth in each of the 20 most violent neighborhood gangs. As a result, StreetSafe Boston’s mentoring efforts are focused on 305 young people widely recognized to be the ones driving violence within each gang. Key to the programs success is the Neighborhood Based Service Delivery where five Program Coordinators and a Workforce Development Manager work with Streetworkers to connect gang-involved youth to needed jobs, education, programming and social services provided by effective local agencies. From July 2010 to January 2011, there was a 15% reduction in shootings among the 20 focus gangs during the first year of StreetSafe implementation.

Gang Prevention & Youth Safety

Communities in Schools of The San Fernando Valley & Greater Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Police Department
Project Name: Yellow Tape Protocol
Los Angeles, CA

The Yellow Tape Protocol program’s main objective is to provide immediate violence interruption and crisis response whenever gang crime erupts within the San Fernando Valley community. The strategy is based on two elements, first, ensuring there is immediate communication between the Los Angeles Police Department and Communities in Schools, and secondly, quick response of Communities in Schools Gang Intervention Specialists to the crime scene to engage in mediation and prevent further violence or retaliations. Communities in Schools are the first responders to calls from the LAPD Gang Intervention Team Commanders, Watch Commanders and Homicide Detectives. The major role of Communities in Schools is to provide street-wise and well-trained Gang Intervention Specialists to manage rumor control and mediate conflicts that could potentially escalate. They aim to have an immediate impact on the situation to help prevent more crime and in the process hopefully save lives by helping youth and young adults over time turn away from gang life and become productive members of society. LAPD estimates that immediate gang retaliations account for over 50% of gang homicides. Each homicide costing the City an estimated $1 million. CIS not only works with the youth immediately following a crisis to avoid further conflict but also offers a 27 hour x 7 day a week quick response to the families that fall victim to gang violence by helping them navigate the tragedy including transportation to the hospital, assisting with funeral arrangements and often provides burial plots. From 2009 to 2011 violent crime in the San Fernando Valley dropped 24% due to the timely response of CIS program through its work with the LAPD.

Aesthetics and Greenspace Improvement

Salt Lake Solutions & Salt Lake City Police Department
Project Name: Pioneer Park Neighborhood Safety and Livability Partners Team
Salt Lake City, UT

Pioneer Park, situated alongside businesses and neighborhoods, has been an open-air drug market since the early 1980’s. Safety for local residents declined as organized drug distribution groups were actively committing crimes on residents who impeded their criminal activity. In 2008, the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office created the Salt Lake Solutions Pioneer Park Neighborhood Safety and Livability Partners Team drawn from the immediate neighbors of the park – residents, businesses, homeless community representatives, property owners, and police, all working to implement strategies to ensure the park’s safety and livability. The group’s objectives are to increase infrastructure and encourage use of the park as a “Neighborhood Park”. Engaging the Downtown Alliance, Salt Lake Solutions negotiated community commitment for regular lawful activities and the park’s extended summer hours. These partnerships work together to engage the community and reduce crime while increasing public use of the park. Specifically, the Salt Lake City Police Department has implemented strategies such as highly visible policing, intelligence-led investigative work, and arresting drug buyers, in order to contribute to the project. Since the projects implementation, there has been a 16.5% decrease in police calls for services.

Drug Market Disruption

Low Income Housing Opportunities, Inc, Housing Authority of High Point, and the High Point Police Department
Project Name: HPHA Drug Market Disruption
High Point, NC

Low Income Housing Opportunities, Inc. (LIHO) is the non-profit component of the Housing Authority of the City of High Point (HPHA). Other program partners are: High Point Community Against Violence, HPHA Resident Council Association, and Concerned Residents of HPHA targeted communities. The target community includes 13 housing communities consisting of a total of 1,096 Public Housing units that are located across the City of High Point, North Carolina. The program objective has been to disrupt drugs in the HPHA housing communities through drug intervention and reducing drug availability & sales to improve resident safety. For 20+ years the HPHA has partnered with the High Point Police Department to provide community police officers to provide security services for the increased security and safety of the High Point Housing Authority property. Rather than patrolling the neighborhoods in a vehicle, the High Point Police began interacting with residents through bike and foot patrols. These patrols are not just another means of enforcing the laws, but this allows the police to interact with residents and gain their trust. As residents became more comfortable with the police, they began giving out information necessary to combat crime and resolve Housing Authority violations. When a particular drug market is identified by the police; violent dealers are arrested; and nonviolent dealers are brought to a “call-in” where they face a roomful of law enforcement officers, social service providers, community figures, ex-offenders and “important persons” – parents, relatives and others with close, influential relationships with particular dealers. The drug dealers are told they are valuable to the community and that they must stop dealing drugs. Social services are then offered to the dealers as they are told that cases have been worked up on them by local law enforcement, but can be suspended if the offenders stop dealing drugs and/or other criminal activity. From 2005-2010, drug related police calls have decreased by 39%, while all drug related crimes also declined. Most notably, assault with a deadly weapon declined by 225% and motor vehicle theft by 375%.

Seniors & Safety

Carrolton-Hollygrove Community Development Corporation (CHCDC) and the New Orleans Police Department
Project Name: Hollygrove Livable Communities Project
New Orleans, LA

In 2007 in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the CHCDC partnered with AARP Louisiana, Trinity Christian Community, and Hollygrove Neighbors in the Hollygrove Livable Communities Project to plan and revitalize an "elder-friendly" neighborhood. Prior to the storms, Hollygrove was home to nearly 7,000 residents of whom 95% were African American, and over 15% were over 65. An active drug trade and prostitution flourished in many parts of Hollygrove where robberies, assaults and murders were common occurrences. When the levees broke, the majority of Hollygrove homes were damaged or destroyed. A once vibrant senior center that connected older adults and provided day care and meal service was declared uninhabitable by FEMA. City officials labeled Hollygrove, once a thriving working class community, as "the forgotten neighborhood". A Leadership Steering Committee was formed comprised of the four partner organizations and community residents. By partnering with AARP, the CHCDC coordinated Safe Growth (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) and Problem-Oriented Police trainings with residents and the New Orleans Police Department at a time when training was nonexistent for a police department trying to stand back up after a major crisis. Together, residents and police officers have contributed to the reduction in crime and fear in Hollygrove, and an increase in social connectedness and resident activities such as the Hollygrove Walking Club. Violent crime is down 68% in the 2nd District, which is experiencing a nine-month period free from murders after having averaged one to two murders per month in 2009.