Community Policing Exchange, November/December 1995. Theme: Strategic Planning Article One How to Plan Strategically for Your Community By Tom Potter and John Campbell Yogi Berra once said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." His mangled advice could describe how we often plan for the future. Most police chiefs and sheriffs were promoted through the ranks of their organizations and still carry with them the old habits that made them good street cops—the ability to size up a situation, act quickly and resolve the problem. But complex crime problems require police leaders to take a planned, community-based, long-term approach. Many communities have developed strategic plans and know the problems and benefits associated with that process. Strategic planning can be done in any size agency. While the level of complexity will vary widely with the size and characteristics of each community, the fundamentals that lead to an effective plan are the same. By using some basic planning steps, communities and police organizations can avoid common mistakes and accelerate the benefits of community policing. What is Strategic Planning? A strategic plan is both a document and a process. The document is the map that helps keep both the community and police on track. It is the standard against which budgeting, workplans, hiring, promotion, deployment, organizational structure and all other implementation elements are tested. The process strengthens the relationship between the community and police, while developing consensus and long-term political support for changes made as a result of strategic planning. For strategic planning to achieve its potential, the police and community must jointly develop long-term solutions. This requires patience, understanding and commitment to hearing the various involved groups and individuals, so the plan truly incorporates community ideas. Making it Happen The basics of good planning are simple: listen, plan, act, evaluate, then repeat. The challenge comes in listening well, planning appropriately, acting effectively and evaluating with accuracy. Key partners in the process include the following participants. Chiefs, sheriffs and elected officials. In the hands of a good leader, a strategic plan is a tool for improving the organization. If the leadership doesn't support the plan, it will fail. Department personnel. The people who will be most responsible for implementation—supervisors, officers and nonsworn personnel must be involved. Community leaders. The process should model the partnerships that are integral to community policing. It is crucial for developing the ongoing support of the community. Interagency partners. Involve other agencies and keep them informed. The following pieces are key ingredients of an effective plan. Mission and values. These elements should be as constant as the northern star. Also, without a strong, guiding mission, an organization will be unable to adjust to change. Short-term strategies. While the document has a long-term vision, it must also define short- term steps. Personnel must clearly see how the mission is translated into action. A distinction between goal and process. The goal is to reduce crime, fear and disorder. Don't confuse that with the process; partnership, problem solving, arrest and investigation are processes that help achieve the goal. Required action by units. Units should create workplans that address how strategies will be implemented day-to-day. This is crucial for establishing internal ownership of the plan. Budget connection. Unless the plan is used to drive the budget process, it will remain a wish list. Work with the political leaders to develop multiyear budget projections. Sustaining the Change Making deep, institutional changes requires a long period of time. The following steps will help to ensure that the plan becomes a reality. Don't divide the mission. Some departments have described the "new" elements (partnerships and problem solving) in a way that suggests the "old" elements (call response, investigation, arrest) are obsolete. Community policing does not throw out existing tools. It adds to them by developing new ways to solve long-standing problems. Define new roles for everyone. It is essential to define new roles for patrol officers. But without specific roles for supervisors and managers, little can be accomplished. When an officer is given more discretion, the sergeant's role also changes. Each person in the organization must know that his/her role will change. People in the community should also work jointly with police to redefine citizens' roles in community safety. Institutionalize. To sustain community policing over the long term, each element of the organization and community must incorporate community policing into its behavior. Good ideas falter when they never become part of the daily life of officers, supervisors or managers. Job descriptions, recruiting and hiring, training, rewards and discipline, promotions and management practices must all change. Community members must also change from being passive recipients of services to active participants in making neighborhoods safer. Focus on organizational culture. Sergeants and field training officers, in particular, must be involved. When these "keepers of the culture" adopt the approach, profound change will follow. Renew the plan. New strategies should be developed to ensure the plan remains pertinent and up to date for each new budget cycle. Maintain flexibility. The mission and values are constant. Goals and objectives are stable for five, or even ten, years. But strategies evolve and timelines become obsolete. Plans that identify actions by the month for the next five years are unrealistic. Require that unit workplans fill in the short-term detail. Disseminate the plan. After the plan is complete, distribute it. Make sure community and agency leaders who participated in developing the plan receive a copy. Make familiarity with the plan part of employee evaluations and promotions. Don't wait to implement. The transition is necessarily incremental—an agency that works 24 hours, every day, cannot stop to retool. Some strategies should begin right away. Policing in America is at a fork in the road. One path leads to business as usual— reacting to individual crimes, but not focusing on solving problems that lead to crime, fear and disorder. The other path leads to solving chronic problems and uses the resources of whole communities, not just "the thin blue line." Transforming organizations and creating new community roles requires planning, commitment, involvement, patience and hard work. While community policing is not a panacea, it is an opportunity to make a difference. That's why we got involved. That's why an effective strategic plan matters. Tom Potter lives in Portland, Ore., and is a 27-year veteran of the Porland Police Bureau. Mr. Potter retired in 1993 as the Bureau's chief of police. John Campbell is president of a consulting company that works with law enforcement agencies and specializes in community policing. Article Two-Community Profile Mount Pleasant Plans Strategy for Shift to Community Policing Mount Pleasant, S.C. The town of Mount Pleasant, established in 1680, is a historic community that borders Charleston. Mount Pleasant is a residential community, comprised primarily of middle-to upper-middle-income families. The town is among the rapidly growing communities in the state, because of its pristine waterfront setting and available land for development. Early in 1991, the Mount Pleasant Police Department decided to adopt community policing as its overall philosophy and problem solving as its main tactic of service delivery. The department began its strategic planning by conducting extensive research on community policing and problem solving and studying agencies that had already implemented these policing philosophies. The department obtained information from a number of agencies, including Baltimore County, Md.; Gaston County, N.C.; Houston, Texas; Hayward, Calif., Newport News, Va.; Portland, Ore.; Richmond, Va.; and San Diego, Calif. Researchers studied this information noting what was most applicable to Mount Pleasant. In January 1992, the Mount Pleasant command staff began a comprehensive training process that included visits to departments in Virginia, Maryland and Oregon. The staff members met with the departments' leaders and observed various community policing programs in action. Afterward, each command staff member received a set of materials to review and critique from the Mount Pleasant point of view. Thereafter, the staff developed an eight-step implementation process that included : redefining the department's mission; researching problem-oriented policing; setting goals, objectives and tasks for implementation; obtaining council approval; involving the community; training personnel; implementation; and getting feedback and doing evaluations. The next phase required drafting an actual plan that laid out the department's goals and objectives. Once completed, the plan included 133 tasks that the staff would undertake over a three-year period to ensure a complete transition to a community policing philosophy. These tasks included everything from training personnel to seeking alternative sources of revenue to fund department operations. Department staff formally presented the implementation plan to Mount Pleasant elected officials and a number of community organizations. The department adjusted the plan to reflect political and community input. Training for all sworn officers in the new department philosophy was completed by January 1993. Since that time, the department has made substantial progress in a number of problem-solving efforts. To ensure ongoing community input, the department worked in concert with a citizen advisory group for 16 months to support the strategic plan. The strategic planning committee was extremely helpful to the police department during implementation. Many of the citizens' recommendations paralleled objectives already set by department staff, while others led to new objectives. Early on, the staff realized that the transition to a new policing philosophy would not happen overnight. There was much to accomplish, and progress was somewhat slower than desired. Resistance among some rank-and-file officers had to be overcome. Training also proved to be a significant task, as did designing and implementing internal support systems to sustain problem-oriented policing. Calls-for-service management, performance evaluations, training, information management and a rewards system consumed a considerable amount of time during implementation. Today, every patrol team in the department is practicing problem-oriented policing. Under the direction of a team supervisor, and with assistance from a division member of the command staff, teams perform research, analyze data and develop potential solutions for problems. This team approach has gotten all officers involved in the problem-solving process. It also provides officers with a sense of ownership in the department's efforts. Community policing and a problem-oriented approach to crime and disorder is working well for Mount Pleasant. Patrol officers have found it more rewarding to resolve problems rather than just react to them. Mount Pleasant's future emphasis is on sustaining the new philosophy. By Chief Thomas J. Sexton For more information about how Mount Pleasant constructed and implemented their strategic plan contact Chief Thomas Sexton, Mount Pleasant Police Department, 100 Anne Edwards Lane, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464. Phone: (803) 884-4176. Fax: (803) 849-0722. About Mount Pleasant... Mount Pleasant is a small ocean-side community that inhabits 36,000 citizens. The borders of this picturesque burg cover 32 miles of prime South Carolina territory. Tommy Sexton has been chief of Mount Pleasant Police Department since 1989, and during his tenure has moved the department away from a traditional policing model to a fully-implemented community policing philosophy. Chief Sexton felt it was important for every member of the department, including 71 sworn officers, 5 non-sworn community service officers, and 28 civilian personnel to be trained in community policing. Article Three- Giving Voice Interview Police Chief, Assistant City Manager and Budget Director Focus on What Works John D. Hartman, budget director, city of Newport News, Va. Q. It is the contention of some municipal leaders that community policing costs more than traditional policing. Can you respond to this concern for those chiefs and sheriffs who are interested in adopting this philosophy but need guidance about how this shift will affect their budgets? Based on your experience, does it cost more? A. Does community policing cost more? Well, there are costs involved in decentralizing. Newport News is 26-miles long, less than a mile wide at its narrowest point and has over 185,000 residents. Spreading resources over this type of geography is difficult to say the least. When we started community policing in 1992, we had the added cost of opening up "storefronts" from which the police officers operate, rent to pay in some cases, electricity, computers and so forth. We also had the added cost of additional personnel—like patrol officers and people to answer the phones at the neighborhood stations. These costs are quantifiable and can be compared with the cost of not implementing community policing. But, it's not as simple to compare the operating and maintenance costs of your current public safety programs with the cost to do community policing. There's a little thing called "cost effectiveness" that needs to be thought out. In this situation, it's difficult to quantify, but it's there nonetheless. The cost effectiveness of the police department by having community policing probably is much better than the cost effectiveness of public safety by not having it. Let me explain. In your home, if you lose power, you know the first place to go to look for the cause of the problem—the fuse box. When there's a problem in a neighborhood, the officers have a very good idea of the first places they should go to look for the "fuse box" or the cause of the problem. This is because they know the neighborhood, they know the people that live there, they're familiar with their homes and the cars they drive, they know the kids, they know their routines and the citizens know them. This, I would think, makes them more efficient and productive in their work and therefore more cost effective than an officer having to come into the neighborhood without the benefit of that knowledge. The officers can go right to the "fuse box," or if they aren't sure where it is, many times someone in the neighborhood that they've developed a relationship with will lead them to it. Does it cost more? It costs us less. Sure, we've had the initial costs of establishing the police presence in the neighborhoods. But, in the long-run, we've had to hire fewer officers because the ones in the neighborhoods are very effective in their jobs and that reduces the overall cost of policing city-wide. Darryl Herring, assistant city manager, city of Springfield, Ohio. Q. Do you think that most mayors and city managers are clear about the level of involvement needed from them in order to make community policing successful? A. I can't speak for other mayors and city managers, all I can speak to is the process we went through here in Springfield. In 1991, our city commission adopted a goal of improving the image and responsiveness of our law enforcement. This goal gave us the opportunity to look into community policing. We conducted a pilot seminar on community policing that was sponsored by the International City/County Manager's Association (ICMA). We actually had representatives from as far away as Salinas, Calif., in attendance. As a result of that seminar we went back to our city commission and said that community policing was something that we should give serious consideration to. At that time [1991], our team consisted of the city manager, assistant city manager, chief of police and his captains. After we expanded the team to include representatives from two police unions, we formally called ourselves an implementation team. We invited ICMA to come back and talk to us again now that we had our team together. We also invited members of our community that we knew would be impacted by the transition to community policing: minsters, county officials, city department heads, school board members and leaders of neighborhood organizations. ICMA explained to all of us that community policing is a philosophy not just a program. Q. What mental stumbling blocks did you have to overcome before you recommended this philosophical shift to your community? A.The biggest challenge we faced in this process was letting go of our top-down communication system and authorizing our street officers to directly contact other departmental field employees. The old system meant that an officer handling a citizen request would pass the information to a police department supervisor, who would in turn contact a city department supervisor, who would in turn give the request to their employee. We knew those layers of communication had to go. We expedited the process by allowing officers to laterally contact field employees. Time in a lot of instances is paramount in dealing effectively with citizens' requests. Q. Did you learn anything during the planning phase or implementation process that would be helpful to other city leaders? A.One tactic I would encourage other city leaders to consider is to hold extended meetings between officers and the city employees they'll be working with. We wanted Springfield's officers to be aware of the process that city hall goes through to say, have a dilapidated, unsightly house demolished. We felt it was important for the officers to know the steps involved so they could pass this knowledge on to citizens. We also wanted the officers to know the people they would be working with on a first-name basis. Our solution was to put the officers through a week-long training session that incorporated the employees and procedures of the various city divisions. One caution I would offer is to make sure citizens know that they are empowered to access the governmental systems. You don't want citizens to become too dependent, otherwise your officers will end up as glorified nuisance abatement officers. It's a weaning process; you take the citizens through the steps, teach them how to do it for themselves, and then you cut the umbilical cord. Chief Darrel Stephens, St. Petersburg Police Department, St. Petersburg, Fla. Q1. Many city officials are not aware of how community policing benefits them and therefore do not see the need to become involved in the planning process. When you were developing your strategic plan to implement community policing, did you involve your mayor and other city leaders? If yes, at what point in the process did that occur and to what extent? A. In St. Petersburg, both city officials and citizens were very involved in the city's efforts to plan and implement community policing. When we started back in 1991, a key issue that came up was the level of staffing that would be needed to implement this philosophy. There was concern that more officers would have to be added. Collectively, we thought community policing was right for St. Petersburg, but we knew the city was not in a position financially to hire any additional officers. The department's approach was to create time by better managing the workload. We made a decision to implement new call management procedures after a broad-based community and political discussion took place. The department developed and implemented a telephone call and report handling section, that today, routinely handles about 12% of the calls-for-service workload. In addition, we were able to change our procedures so that fewer reports were required. These measures, combined with some resource allocation decisions, provided a base of 44 officers that were assigned to 44 geographic areas in the city. All of this was done without adding a single officer to the department. The collaborative efforts between the police department and city officials continue today as our community policing program continues to evolve. In 1993, St. Petersburg switched to a strong mayor-form of government. A mayor was elected who understands how important neighborhood safety is to meeting his overall goal of improving the city. Q. In hindsight, how vital do you feel their contributions were to the success of your transition to community policing? A. How vital are city leaders to making a successful transition to community policing? In my experience, they are critical to the effort. The mayor is committed to making our neighborhoods safe. Two years ago, he created "Operation Commitment," a program that pulls all city departments together to target a specific neighborhood for an intensive six-month improvement effort. It's this kind of involvement that helps to solve a community's problems. Article Four Community Policing: A Philosophy, Not A Program Of the variety of concepts in police science, community policing is perhaps the oldest, most controversial and least understood. Community policing in its best sense is a philosophy and not just a program. It is a philosophy of police and community cooperating with one another to ascertain the problems and needs of a community, and working in harmony to address those needs. In order for the philosophy to work, there must be total immersion of management and rank-and-files; there must be total commitment. An agency cannot compartmentalize a community policing program. That model is doomed to failure because of its internal divisiveness and lack of career path for the officers involved. The philosophic approach to community policing encourages, aids and abets community cooperation. It means motivating citizens to participate in auxiliary police activities, block watching, police-support volunteer units, community crisis-intervention teams, quality-of-life action groups, neighborhood councils and town meetings. And all of this cannot be the work of one or two officers dedicated to "community affairs." It must be the work of an entire department and each of its subdivisions. Critics who say that the philosophy of community policing takes away from the enforcement role of the police officer and makes him or her a "social worker" fail to perceive its underlying effectiveness. The true practice of community policing may well save a cop's life. It may well provide solutions that change a community, once written off as too dangerous to patrol, into a productive, safe neighborhood. It may well provide information previously not available on perpetrators of crime, gang members and drug dealers. And it may well change the quality of life for both the police practitioner and the public. One need not be a social worker, but one should be aware of the social and economic dimensions of crime. Over the past three decades, we have seen a marked change in the dynamics of street law enforcement. American society, with its variety of cultural, religious, ethnic and racial groups, is a phenomenon unequalled anywhere on this planet. This diversity makes our nation strong; yet, ironically, it can also divide us. We are all in a learning curve about understanding and accepting one another. This is what the philosophy of community policing is all about. It is understanding, helping and supporting one another to build communities and programs that will enhance the quality of life for citizens and officers. This philosophy and methodology does not make one any less a "cop." But it does provide new ways to be more effective as a law enforcement professional. It does provide training to defuse neighborhood situations before they become crises. And it does make for a breed of officer who can serve as role models for youth. Some departments still shy away from a community policing model or from total immersion in its philosophy. A successful model will first assess the community to be served by analyzing demographics and neighborhood composition. It would further assess the department's capability to serve the diverse needs of the community. The next steps include identifying missions and goals, training personnel, reaching out to the community, analyzing budget and resources, targeting neighborhoods for concentration, mobilizing the "grass-roots" forces of the community and establishing community participation. Once in place, the department should evaluate the model every six to twelve months for effectiveness. Indications of success include a decrease in the incidence of crime, improved cooperation with police, improved quality of life and, of course, an improved community image of the police. But no model is absolute or permanently structured. Each model will change as a particular community's needs change. That's the essence of community policing—it's a living, breathing, changing phenomenon. I am convinced that the community policing model is the most effective method of delivering police services efficiently, cost-effectively and humanely. I am also convinced that if we are to create greater harmony and understanding in our society and defuse the ugliness brought on by frustration, hate and ignorance, the philosophy of community policing is a step in that direction. However, it can only be effective if the philosophy pervades the department and if the cynics and nay-sayers give it an opportunity to blossom. By John R. Gentile, retired federal law enforcement officer, Staten Island, N.Y. Article Five War on Kane Street Ends Aurora, Ill. The Way it Was Until a couple of years ago, veterans of the Aurora Police Department unanimously agreed that the most dangerous area of the city was Kane Street. Kane Street or "Cocaine Street," as one news reporter referred to it in a live TV broadcast, was known for its 24-hour open-air drug markets. For 20 years nothing interrupted Kane Street's drug business—not inclement weather nor marked police vehicles. It was a neighborhood "at war with the police." Located 35 miles west of Chicago, Aurora is home to approximately 115,000 people. Demographically, the city is an ethnic blend of Caucasians, Hispanics and African-Americans. A mostly African-American population inhabits the nine square blocks referred to as Kane Street. In the last two decades, only one business, the American Legion, has had a Kane Street address. Over the years, the Legion hall became a mecca for alcohol and drug abusers. It had been a common site of disturbances, drug use and homicides for many years. Recent years added gang activity and street shootings to the list of repeated crimes. Not surprisingly, police officers were reluctant to patrol Kane Street and responded to calls in the area en masse. The officers were acutely aware of the dangers involved in conducting routine traffic stops or responding to domestic disturbances. Overwhelmed by the degeneration of their neighborhood, the good citizens of Kane Street felt it futile to complain to the police. So Kane Street continued to erode and the daily violence simply became their way of life. And Then Came Community Policing In late 1992, Chief David L. Stover made a decision to try to end the nightmare of life on Kane Street. He assigned Officers David Jacobs and William Hall (both Caucasians) to a long-term, problem-oriented policing project. Stover instructed the officers to use a combination of traditional and community policing initiatives to take back Kane Street. Jacobs and Hall were tasked with arresting street-level drug dealers and enlisting the aid of a mistrusting neighborhood. In the first phase of the project, the officers introduced themselves, and the community policing concept, to Kane Street residents. Jacobs and Hall administered a survey that asked the residents to identify the issues they perceived as problems. As part of their strategy, the officers went door-to-door and delivered crime bulletins that included a phone number for citizens who wanted to anonymously report criminals and their illegal activities. After acquiring basic information, the Aurora officers used both overt, directed patrol and covert operations to discourage drug dealing. Despite the increased police presence, the impact was minimal at best. As soon as the officers got one drug dealer off the street, another one quickly moved in to take his place. However, the officers could claim one small victory. The heavy enforcement to curb illegal activities at the American Legion paid off. Jacobs and Hall minimized unwanted activity by securing an order for the building to be closed every day except weekends. Officers Jacobs and Hall had 20 years of citizen mistrust to overcome and knew they couldn't get discouraged during the slow process of rebuilding the community's confidence. The two officers persevered and were eventually rewarded for their patience when a few residents offered their homes as surveillance locations. Soon after this show of support, neighborhood meetings began. Having witnessed positive results and an unprecedented growing trust in the police, Kane Street citizens formed a group called the "Inner Circle." With a focused sense of purpose to reclaim their neighborhood, the citizens initiated neighborhood statement marches. The citizens' new partners, Hall and Jacobs, along with other Aurora officers including Chief Stover accompanied citizens in these marches. The demonstrations had their intended effect. Deterred by the citizens' determination to take back their territory, the gang members eventually packed up and left Kane Street. A landlord who owned most of Kane Street's apartment buildings was of tremendous assistance to Hall and Jacobs. The landlord bought and distributed cameras for his tenants to use to film drug deals. Through this mechanism, residents supplied tangible evidence that enabled the officers to make numerous drug arrests. During one month alone, officers evicted several suspected drug dealers by conducting raids and enforcing the Illinois Nuisance Abatement Act. Chief Stover increased the number of patrol cars on all three of the department's shifts and had the officers enforce a "zero tolerance" philosophy for Kane Street violations. Any out-of-town vehicle found in the Kane Street area was stopped and warned of the new policy. The Inner Circle continued to grow and published its first newsletter in May 1994. The publication was an indicator that determination and commitment was replacing fear of retaliation from gang members and drug dealers. The group concentrated on citizens' strengths and the positive aspects of the neighborhood while continuing to reinforce the community-police partnership. Kane Street Today The basic principle of community policing is that the police and the community work together to solve neighborhood problems and enhance the quality of life. All of this occurred on Kane Street. Today, calls for service in the area are at an all-time low. Reports of gangs, drugs and violence are nonexistent. No longer is the police department "at war with this neighborhood." Officers Jacobs and Hall are reluctant to close the books on this project in spite of having achieved their stated goals. To them, Kane Street is "their neighborhood." And, despite the assurance that they will receive new beat officers, Kane Street residents are also hesitant to see "their cops" go. In a culturally divided society, the Kane Street project offers new hope to what ails America. By Commander Michael J. Nila For more information about the Kane Street Project, contact Commander Michael J. Nila, Aurora Police Department, 350 N. River St., Aurora, IL 60506. Phone (708) 859-1700, ext. 550. Article Six Maximizing Community Resources Cape Girardeau, Mo. Community police officers need to be knowledgeable about their communities' resources. This awareness hit me like a ton of bricks when I was given the task of improving the quality of life in my assigned target area. A racially diverse neighborhood, my area is home to residents of a relatively low socioeconomic status and is known as the drug/crime area of the city. I discovered that many of the residents in my jurisdiction had no idea how or where to get help. There are many agencies and programs available to those in need, but it seems that few take advantage of these resources. Why? If Cape Girardeau is like other cities, it's probably because there are little to no outreach programs that get this information to citizens. As an officer, I know that law enforcement agencies are at the top of the list in terms of outreach capabilities. Helping to link those in need with resources should be a natural function of any law enforcement agency. I have learned that informal neighborhood meetings are one of the most efficient ways to get to the heart of residents' concerns. And frequently, their concerns can be resolved with a simple phone call. For instance, I discovered that many of the residents in my area didn't know to call the parks department to have the neighborhood park mowed, or that the sanitation department will pick up trash left curbside for days, or that it's legitimate to complain to city departments about overgrown weeds and abandoned cars. I developed a resource card that my partner and I now distribute to every new resident we meet. The card lists phone numbers for such resources as shelters, clinics, family support and food distribution centers. It includes a comprehensive list of city departments. With a quick glance to their card, residents are able to request services, register complaints or contact their local municipal court, police station or taxi company. The cards have effectively taught citizens how to utilize city services. The message is that city departments are one of the most valuable and overlooked resources available to police departments and citizens; we just need to help spread the word. I also found that many of the individuals in my area have not completed their high school educations. Fortunately, there is a GED program available through our local vocational-technical school. But unfortunately for the citizens in my target area, the campus is located several miles away and is not on a public transportation line. My partner contacted the coordinator of the GED program and asked if they could hold classes in an area convenient to the people we serve. That call resulted in a collaboration among the Salvation Army, Adult Basic Education and the police department to hold GED classes in a newly renovated Salvation Army building. This is a perfect example of how we, as officers, can help bring programs to the people who need them. Another issue we helped our citizens deal with is employment. In our region, the unemployment rate is high, making work particularly difficult to find for those with limited skills and education. My partner and I established a working relationship with the local Private Industry Council (PIC). The PIC has a subsidized job entry program but has had difficulty locating people eligible for their program. We were able to help both the PIC and citizens by identifying qualified persons and making referrals. Finding people jobs, cleaning up the parks, and seeing that people get educated may not seem like "real" law enforcement to some. I believe, however, that helping citizens gain self-esteem and financial independence is the foundation for rebuilding our communities. For the police department of the 90s to succeed, it will have to be able to identify and maximize its use of community resources. The quest to restore order and quality of life can only be accomplished by first helping our citizens to get their lives together. Like it or not, local police departments must participate in this monumental task. The first step in climbing this mountain is to help others learn how to better their world by using the community's resources. By Officer Charles Herbst For more information write to Officer Charles Herbst, City of Cape Girardeau Police Department, 40 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO 63701. Phone: (314) 335-6621. Fax: (314) 335-8571. Article Seven Miami Citizens Have One-Stop Shopping Miami, Fla. For years, citizens concerned about the delivery and quality of municipal services demanded that the Miami city government respond to their needs in a more expeditious manner. In short, Miami citizens wanted more accountability at the neighborhood level. In recent years, the Miami Police Department created and implemented a variety of programs aimed at addressing quality-of-life issues. The department conducted operations, including reverse stings, team policing, crime sweeps and "john" details, hoping to control the increasing level of crime. Although these initiatives had an enormous impact, they were only temporary solutions. It became clear that the only way the department would be more effective as crime-fighters was to have the support of the entire community. Officials wanted long-term results and knew that would require a stronger and more comprehensive approach. In 1992, Miami officials visited city neighborhoods and asked citizens what types of services they needed. Citizens' responded that government was too removed and uncaring, too bureaucratic and complex. Miami leaders listened and developed a concept that made city government more accessible and more responsive. Neighborhood Enhancement Teams (NETs) were created to give municipal government a physical presence in Miami neighborhoods and the ability to establish ties with its many diverse communities. The NET approach to the delivery of services was to decentralize and create 13 neighborhood service centers. Each NET center is staffed with a NET administrator; a service center representative; three sergeants on rotation; two neighborhood resource officers; one public service aide; code enforcement inspectors for zoning, sanitation and public works; and a clerical assistant. Six of the NET centers also have job counselors who assist residents in finding employment. NET centers have become hubs of positive interaction between citizens and government and this interaction has been the key to their success. Net has created a spirit of cooperation and partnership between residents and the city. The NET staff, along with residents and merchants, formulates strategic plans, to address the unique problems and needs in each neighborhood. NET's strategies include: working closely with the NROs to prevent and combat crime and to target problem areas, organizing and supporting new crime watches, coordinating police efforts to increase overall visibility and create a sense of greater security, increasing use of the Nuisance Abatement Board as a tool to deal with problems such as drugs and prostitution, working with residents and associations to halt the spread of code violations and to upgrade neighborhoods through code enforcement, serving as the communication link with city departments to coordinate the delivery of municipal services to the NET service areas, developing plans to eliminate illegal dumping of trash and garbage, and becoming a forum for residents' complaints and concerns. The positive feedback from citizens and business owners has been tremendous. One Miami citizen, Deborah Valledor, says "NET has brought a piece of city hall into our neighborhood. With NET, we are dealing with people who are responsible for our neighborhood, not the entire city...and we know who to call when we have a...problem and they help us solve it." Submitted by the Miami Police Department To receive a 19-page brochure about the NET program, contact Lieutenant Joseph T. Longueira, Commander, Planning and Research Unit, Miami Police Department, P.O. Box 016777, Miami, FL 33101. Phone: (305) 579-6565. Article Eight San Jose's Project Crackdown: Strategic Planning in Action San Jose, Calif. Six years ago, the San Jose Police Department started taking back its troubled neighborhoods when it put into action its strategic plan for neighborhood stabilization. Through Project Crackdown a highly visible, multiagency approach to solving community problems 18 San Jose neighborhoods have been improved. The program's infrastructure combines resources from nearly every municipal office: law enforcement, recreation and youth programs, code enforcement, housing, and numerous other county, state and private efforts. Today there are eight active Project Crackdown sites, and 10 that have stabilized to a maintenance mode. The police department estimates that since Project Crackdown began, there have been 9,000 fewer calls for service. A reduction of this magnitude, coupled with the physical improvements and sustained community mobilization, is a striking improvement in the overall sense of safety and quality of life in San Jose. Rest assured, this type of achievement did not happen overnight. It has taken years to fine-tune the process of entering neighborhoods, making positive changes and then maintaining the communitys' participation. Strategic planning and implementation have been as important to Project Crackdown's success as have police presence and graffiti paint-overs. Project Crackdown begins with site selection resulting from a review of neighborhoods in the city's 176 square miles. In 1990, the department developed Neighborhood Targeting Criteria as an instrument to identify and recommend Crackdown sites. The criteria are regularly refined and adapted to respond to emerging issues. Various combinations of the following criteria are used during the selection process: documented evidence of high crime rates, incidents of violent crime, community complaints, analysis of crime trends, visual observation by police of drug sales, and presence of out-of-town drug dealers; presence of gang activity, including graffiti and criminal acts; visual blight such as trash, abandoned vehicles, and discarded appliances and furniture, proliferation of building and housing code violations, and deterioration of exterior premises; and community instability and fragmentation based on high turnover rates in schools and residences, lack of neighborhood organizations, reduced property values, school truancy and high dropout rates, and high population density. Using the Neighborhood Targeting Criteria, representatives from the provider departments and the mayor and city manager evaluate the potential Crackdown site for final approval. Before a neighborhood is publicly announced, an interdepartmental advance team sets to work to suppress blatant criminal activity, assess service needs, identify neighborhood leaders and begin community outreach. This sets the stage for the kick-off events. Flyers (usually multilingual) are distributed in the targeted area to announce a Community Information Forum and a Neighborhood Barbecue/Clean-Up Day. The forum introduces to residents the numerous city staff soon to become familiar faces in the neighborhood. The Saturday clean-up brings a sense of accomplishment as residents fill bins with rubbish and debris and then join their neighbors for a foodfest. City departments provide a variety of displays, demonstrations, and activities for adults and kids alike. To build on the initial momentum and enthusiasm generated by this highly visible infusion of services, a follow-up meeting is held the next week. It is a citizen-driven needs assessment that communicates to the city the priorities that are important to the neighborhood. Residents select Community Action Team (CAT) members and design a 30-60-180-day plan for the area. All participating departments, residents and property owners commit to the plan, and review progress at monthly action team meetings. As problems are tackled and achievements celebrated, the CAT gradually assumes the leadership necessary to maintain and improve their neighborhood. This phase varies in length and depends on the severity of the problems to be addressed, the cohesiveness of the CAT and the stability of the neighborhood. The ultimate objective of this process is the empowerment of the CAT, which eventually lessens the dependence on Project Crackdown staff. Just as selection of a Crackdown site is based on Neighborhood Targeting Criteria, transition of an area to maintenance status is likewise tied to benchmarks. When all can agree that the project s measurable goals and objectives have been reached, and that the neighborhood leaders are self-directed in accessing service delivery systems, then a 60-day transition plan is enacted. While receiving assurance that police and other agency services remain available (though they are less intensive), the Community Action Team becomes the vehicle for problem solving and united action. Once the transition is firmly established, the neighborhood is considered to have achieved maintenance status. The planning for San Jose's next Project Crackdown neighborhood begins. By April Bullock For more information on Project Crackdown write to April Bullock, Senior Analyst, City of San Jose Police Department, 201 W. Mission St., P.O. Box 270, San Jose, CA 95103-0270. Phone: (408) 277-4212. Article Nine Curmudgeon Citizen By Al Forman Jack Spratt could eat no fat; his wife could eat no lean. It could have been a marriage made in heaven. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to bet the firm (I never owned a farm) that Romeo and Juliet would have been together for their Golden Anniversary—or even their Paper Anniversary. Both were such hopeless romantics. A reality check will tell you that for a partnership to be effective, the respective partners must complement each other. If one is a thinker, the other should be a doer. If one is Mr. Outside, the other should be Ms. Inside. If one is ... OK, I've made my point. No need to beat it into the ground. Now take public safety, a serious concern for all who do not live in a cave atop Pike's Peak. If we're going to be safe from criminal activity, or even nuisance activity that degrades our quality of life, there must be an effective partnership between the two parties responsible: police and citizens. Everyone knows about police responsibility. We taxpayers pay officers to be responsible. And we also pay doctors handsomely to make us well; however, this doesn't mean that patients don't have to take responsibility for their own health. So it is with public safety. Citizens must be responsible for doing their share for their own good. Police and citizens have complementary abilities that, in combination, make them an effective team. Police have the appropriate training and the experience to fight crime. They are linked together in a fast-response communications structure. Their weakness is their scarcity. In my town, there is one sworn officer for every 600 or 700 residents. Viewed another way for demographic chaps, there are 1¼ officers per square mile. In contrast, citizens, though lacking training and organization, are everywhere, even when it's not rush hour. What a team the two make in a cooperative partnership. Citizens become the eyes and ears that report crime while taking appropriate steps to protect themselves. Police act as the muscle to keep crime down. Together, the two are the heart and mind of a community that work to make an environment safe. Each complements the other for the common good. Jack Spratt and his dear wife could do no better. Al Forman is a regular contributor to Community Policing Exchange. Mr. Forman is a volunteer with the police department in Port St. Lucie, Fla. and writes and produces the department's public newsletter, titled Community. Article Ten New Jersey Seniors Don't Sit Still for Crime Monmouth County, N.J. Statistically, we know that America's senior population increases every year. As that segment of the population increases, so does the frequency of crimes against elderly citizens. As police administrators seek solutions to crimes against seniors, many have discovered a program called Triad. Triad unites chiefs, sheriffs, senior citizens and social service agencies to identify and develop solutions to crimes and problems that affect older citizens. The beauty of Triad is that it utilizes the wisdom, experiences, energy and motivation of this growing population to shed light on problem areas. After all, who better knows the challenges that seniors face than seniors themselves? The senior volunteers in Triad provide a wealth of information helping to make Triad very cost-effective. The Seniors and Lawmen Together Council is the workhorse of Triad. Otherwise known as SALT, the council comprises representatives from various law enforcement, community service and senior organizations. The members meet regularly not only to identify the problem areas for seniors but also to develop and implement solutions. Law enforcement leaders in all regions of the country have recognized Triad's effectiveness. Because the program has proven to be an efficient use of talent and resources, its popularity has skyrocketed. Monmouth County has more than 120,000 senior citizens in 53 municipalities that are serviced by 49 police departments and one sheriff's office. Some of the Triad programs that have been successful in assessing and addressing the needs of the elderly in Monmouth County include: senior citizen identification, scam prevention, citizen police academy, daily call-in for seniors, sensitivity training for police officers, and senior safe walk. Another East Coast city, Bridgeport, Conn., used Triad to launch an intergenerational program called "Spices of Life." Their program brings seniors and teenagers together to help prepare adolescents for everyday life; seniors teach young people life skills such as sewing, cooking and household management. Triad is a program that utilizes a community's natural resources—its senior citizens—to build a safer, stronger environment for all of its citizens. By Chief Sheriff's Officer Ted Freeman For more information call Betsy Cantrell, Triad director, (800) 424-7827 or write to Ted Freeman, Chief Sheriff's Officer, Office of the Sheriff, County of Monmouth, 50 E. Main St., P.O. Box 1263, Freehold, NJ 07728-1263. Phone: (908) 431-6524. Article Eleven Enhancing Police Services with Senior Volunteers Newark, Del. The Newark Police Department, like many other police organizations, constantly struggles to enhance services without benefit of additional resources. Leaders are already challenged by managing their departments' existing budgets of tax dollars and city revenue. Our department found that it could enhance services and reduce some of the workload by using senior citizen volunteers to assist with the department's routine activities. In locations where communities are facing fiscal constraints, police volunteers are one of the few mechanisms for improving services without increasing citizens' taxes. Newark was exposed to the idea of using senior volunteers through Triad (see "New Jersey Seniors Don't Sit Still for Crime). Prompted by information obtained from Triad, we linked up with the local Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP). RSVP is supported by federal dollars to enhance senior volunteerism in virtually every public service endeavor throughout the community. RSVP provides insurance that covers the volunteers from the time they leave their homes until the time they return and also reimburses them for mileage. In six years, our program has expanded to 15 volunteers who work in various divisions of the police department. We have come to value and rely on their services. We are quickly reminded how important their contributions are on those rare occasions when they are unable to work their scheduled hours. The volunteers perform a variety of tasks that assist with daily operations and the delivery of police services to Newark's citizens. Their responsibilities include: preparing a crime information bulletin that is distributed to all personnel twice weekly; capsulizing and documenting crime trends; assisting with centralized records by servicing citizen requests at the public information window, entering data from crime reports, processing requests for traffic accident reports, and filing reports in the central filing system; reviewing court conviction dispositions of university students and providing the information to the dean of students to better manage off-campus student behavior; analyzing all false alarms, preparing follow-up correspondence, obtaining explanations for the alarms and ensuring that corrective actions are taken to limit their frequency; reviewing 911 calls that are erroneously transferred to our system and taking action to ensure that future calls are transmitted to the appropriate 911 answering point; monitoring party, noise and disorderly conduct violations related to rental units and notifying landlords of the violations so that corrective action may be taken in conjunction with the city's ordinance; and assisting various units with data entry, evidence and property purges, mass mailing, and sorting and filing of mug shots. The volunteer program brings the citizens we serve into the police department and creates an environment for ongoing interaction between officers and the senior volunteers. Many of the volunteers say that the appreciation they receive is one of their primary reasons for volunteering with the police department. Officers have an opportunity to interact with caring and supportive citizens, and develop a greater sensitivity to senior citizens' concerns. Advice for Departments Setting Up a Volunteer Program Employees may be reluctant to allow "outsiders" into the working components of the police agency. They may have a natural fear that volunteers will eliminate or replace their positions. Therefore, it is important to reassure all employees that the volunteers are there to enhance services and to lessen the workload and increase efficiency. Agency personnel must be committed to train the volunteers to perform specific tasks. I have found that once volunteers have been properly screened and trained, they make for a highly professional and very dedicated group of individuals. Agencies should conduct limited background investigations on the volunteers. It is also wise to get commitments about the frequency and number of hours volunteers are willing to devote. I can't stress enough how important it is for police agencies to make certain the work given to volunteers is meaningful. Many of the volunteers who come into our department are well educated, competent individuals who are looking for a challenge and want to know that they are truly contributing to the police operation. It has been my experience that a volunteer program begins slowly, but if the police department is committed to the concept, it will grow both in terms of the number of volunteers and the complexity of the assignments. As this evolution occurs, the services that volunteers provide will become indispensable; their contributions will benefit both the police agency and the citizens served. By Chief William Hogan For more information about how to enhance your staff without increasing your budget, contact Chief William Hogan, Newark Police Department, 220 Elkton Road, P.O. Box 390, Newark, DE 19715-0390. Phone: (302) 366-7104. Fax: (302) 366-7129. End of November/December 1995 Issue