Peer-to-Peer Public Safety Summit Empowers Residents
By Karen Rogers and Lateefah Raheem, Atlanta Weed and Seed; and Jill Strickland, Women's Business Enterprise National Council
 Summit organizers and presenters |
On March 17, 2007, more than 70 Atlanta neighborhood leaders and other community stakeholders gathered for the Peer-to-Peer Public Safety Summit: Working Together to Build Safer Communities. Hosted by the Mayor's Office of Weed and Seed, the public safety conference allowed individuals to exchange ideas on increasing the effectiveness of resident-driven strategies for improving community policing and crime deterrence.
To host the summit, the Mayor's Office of Weed and Seed partnered with the Atlanta Renewal Community Coordinating Responsible Authority (ACoRA), the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, and Georgia State University's Department of Criminal Justice and Partnership for Urban Health Research. Invitations were sent to residents, neighborhood leaders, public safety advocates, law enforcement officials, and other community stakeholders representing the city's 30 Empowerment Zone (EZ) communities—both current and previous. The federal EZ program nurtures community-based development in Atlanta's poorest neighborhoods by increasing the residents' capacities to be self sufficient and by helping them to revitalize and strengthen their physical environments.
At the summit, the attendees interacted with their peers and representatives of four national Weed and Seed sites to discuss proven community-based crime prevention tactics. Public safety experts and advocates shared established community policing strategies, and community leaders discussed how to proactively tackle the issues that lead to neighborhood decay and crime.
The day-long event was part of an ongoing effort to promote safe and livable communities by increasing the effectiveness of resident-led community policing and neighborhood restoration strategies. Representatives of both local and national Weed and Seed sites held workshops to present the lessons they have learned and their best practices, and participants received an overview of the foundations of community policing and problem solving. In addition, participants explored topics such as neighborhood-specific crime mapping, community asset mapping, and project planning. Summit participants also took an interactive survey using perception analyzers technology. A perception analyzer is a handheld device used to answer questions, give feedback, and communicate opinions. Resulting data points are instantly available on computers to moderators, viewing clients, event facilitators and instructors, allowing the opportunity to see instant results.
The national best practices session featured speakers who shared their successful resident-driven public safety strategies. First on the agenda, from Manchester, NH, were Sgt. Dana Langton, Weed and Seed Police Liaison, and Tracey Degges, a community resident representing Neighbors for a Better Manchester. Sgt. Langton recounted how the murder of an officer in a Weed and Seed community spurred his neighbors to band together and demand safety within their neighborhoods. Tracey Degges spoke on resident and civic engagement. Following this presentation, Lt. Terry Patterson and Capt. Dan Silk of Athens-Clarke County, GA, discussed the challenges their site faced and how residents and other stakeholders successfully partnered with the police force to improve their community. Carolyn Brown of Charleston, SC, closed the session by sharing the successes of Operation Neighborhood and the Citizens Patrol Against Drugs in Charleston.
A local best practices session was then conducted by Atlanta Weed and Seed neighborhood representatives. This session highlighted Atlanta's best practices, including the Vine City Sector Concept (a neighborhood watch and resident engagement strategy), Pittsburgh Project Color the Crime (a neighborhood public safety initiative), and Mechanicsville "Steps in Developing a Pubic Safety Plan."
Finally, through ACoRA's Integrated Strategic Plan Priority 2.1: Implement Comprehensive Neighborhood-Based Public Safety Program, more than $450,000 will be awarded to neighborhood- and community-based organizations. These organizations will receive ongoing training and technical assistance to help them better support their projects.
Response from the summit's participants was positive. Several participants commented that they were excited about starting public safety programs in their communities. With all of the information the residents and stakeholders shared at the summit, its sponsors are confident that participants returned to their communities armed with proactive strategies and techniques that they will share and implement with fellow stakeholders—and that their success will benefit all of Atlanta's families and communities.
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For more information, contact:
Karen Rogers
Atlanta Site Coordinator
404-215-2890
