Fighting Back Against Hate in Los Angeles
Kathryn A. Kohn, CCDO Program Manager
The presence of hate-motivated crime and graffiti can make a community too scared to fight back. In the Harbor Gateway Weed and Seed site in Los Angeles, CA, the community's lack of communication and confidence was letting hate crimes continue.
When Senior Lead Officer Melody Hainline was transferred to the Harbor Gateway area, she was faced with the growing problem of hate crime and graffiti. The "tagging" of hate slang specifically directed at the African-American community was rampant, with graffiti seen on garages, fences, and local businesses. In a 3-month period in 2003, the area saw 20 shootings and assaults, most of which were directed at African-American victims. Curbing such activity might seem a daunting task to most officers, but Officer Hainline approached the problem by simply breaking it down: Why was this happening? Why was the community not fighting back?
What she found was that the community had no infrastructure: no town hall and no forum for speaking out against these activities. The citizens were afraid of the gangs, and the city was not giving the problem enough attention. So the police department, led by Officer Hainline, reached out to the community and recruited volunteers to go door to door to get residents' feedback on crime.
By using volunteers—easily identifiable in donated t-shirts—instead of police officers, Officer Hainline was confident that community members would speak out about the criminal activity that was occurring in their neighborhood. She knew it was important to create a community policing strategy that was specifically geared toward resident input and that responded to the specific issues residents raised.
"Community policing has to be designed for the area it is working in," Officer Hainline said. "What works in my area may not work in another area and vice versa."
The door-to-door survey received a positive response from the community, and the volunteers eventually surveyed 220 homes. Basing her strategy on the survey findings, Officer Hainline used patrol units, gang officers, and bicycle teams to focus on the area. What resulted was an immediate drop in violent crime in the 2 1/2 months following the survey.
The momentum from this outreach led to an application for Weed and Seed Official Recognition. The police and community members involved realized that they needed money and recognition to support neighborhood watch activities and to keep the residents involved.
Not only did Harbor Gateway receive Official Recognition in 2004, but Officer Hainline was also recognized for her outstanding work in getting the project started through community policing. She received the 2004 Civil Rights Award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police for exceptional innovation in the area of investigation. She is described by her U.S. Attorney's Office as an "incredible officer who is committed to Weed and Seed and truly involved in the community."
In describing her visions for the future of Harbor Gateway, Officer Hainline voiced the need to keep hate crimes down and to maintain the police's connection with Weed and Seed. "We started with easier neighborhoods in our outreach but we see the need in approaching rougher gang neighborhoods. I am curious to see if the momentum will last and if we can continue to be effective in our community policing strategies."
For more information, contact:
Officer Melody Hainline
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