SITE OVERVIEW ♦ SYRACUSE | NEW YORK
Target Area: Near Westside • Population: 7,000
Fiscal Agent: Center for Court Innovation
Research Partner: Center for Court Innovation
Crime Concerns: Quality-of-life crimes and violent crimes
BCJI Funding Year: 2013 Planning & Implementation
Neighborhood Profile
Syracuse’s Near Westside neighborhood is impacted by poverty, serious crime, and disorder compared to most cities in the United States. Indeed, over half of its residents live below the poverty line, 40 percent are unemployed, and 90 percent of its youth live in homes receiving public assistance. In addition to socioeconomic challenges, the target area experiences higher levels of crime than other parts of the city. The Syracuse Police Department reports that the target neighborhood has the highest number of shots fired, violent crimes, and drug crimes in the city. Residents cite that an even more pressing problem is the pervasive incidence of lower-level, quality-of-life crimes, which impact their everyday lives. These crimes include theft, property damage, vandalism, assault, burglary, prostitution, unauthorized use of motor vehicles, and other lower-level crimes. It is also apparent that there is a fear of crime in the community with over 70 percent of residents reporting that they do not feel safe at any time in Near Westside.
Planning Process
The Syracuse BCJI program aims to achieve the enhancement of both the community’s capacity to address crime and disorder, as well as the existing neighborhood revitalization efforts through community benefits projects driven by the community. The BCJI work is centered around Peacemaking, a traditional Native American approach to justice that focuses on healing and restoration, rather than punishment. The model brings together the disputants, along with family members, friends, and other members of the community to speak about how the event, crime, or crisis affected each person with the goal of resolving the immediate dispute and healing the relationships to restore balance to the community.
The planning process informed design the Peacemaking Center from an architectural and programming perspective, with decisions shaped by analysis of community crime data and focus groups with community members and justice system stakeholders. The analysis confirmed the location of a hot spot in the community, which is adjacent to the site of the new Center, and shaped community engagement and recruitment strategies.
Implementation Strategies
The Near Westside Peacemaking Center opened in Syracuse in early 2015 with two main purposes: (1) free, community-based conflict resolution, and (2) resident-informed community projects to reclaim the neighborhood. During the first year, the Project accepted peacemaking cases diverted from the police, probation, neighborhood schools and community members. Twenty cases entered peacemaking, involving 45 individuals in conflict, 30 community support people, and 15 trained community volunteer peacemakers. 43 peacemaking circles were held. The Project also assisted three classroom teachers from neighborhood schools with relationship-building circles that reached 64 middle-school students.
In addition, the Peacemaking Center supports community-led projects focused on education, dialogue, art, cultural events, and neighborhood beautification. This has included mapping broken streetlights in the neighborhood for repair, and a series of dialogues between young people and police about race and violence.
The peacemaking strategy is diverting people from the justice system, while also spurring a host of community improvements led by local people. For example, a peacemaker volunteer was inspired to host a potluck across the street from Skiddy Park, an identified problem property, where residents have often reported feeling unsafe. The event created more opportunities for community cohesion and positive use of the park. The Syracuse BCJI site is also working with the Lerner Center for Public who recently released a “Take Back the Streets” report, featuring the Near Westside target area of the Syracuse site. This partnership is allowing the Syracuse Peacemaking Center to showcase their resident engagement strategies more prominently and build their outreach.
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