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Combating Crime and Strengthening Community: An Overview of the Comprehensive Communities Program

NCJ Number
184766
Author(s)
Sharon Mullally
Date Published
1999
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This videotape presents an overview of a nationwide crime prevention and crime control initiative and highlights the program’s development and accomplishment in three locations.
Abstract
The Bureau of Justice Assistance established the Comprehensive Communities Program (CCP) in 1994. The CCP model emphasizes crime reduction and enhanced public safety as central to improving the quality of life in cities. The central ingredients of CCP are partnership and collaboration among agencies and communities, shared problem identification and problem-solving, and changes in how public safety works. The model emphasizes local involvement in program planning and decision-making, as well as community policing. CCP selected 16 jurisdictions for the CCP effort. The videotape presents the perspectives of residents, police, and city officials in targeted communities in Phoenix, AZ; Hartford, CT; and Wichita, KS. The Hartford community targeted issues related to quality of life and residents’ fear of crime. The Phoenix program focused on one inner-city and involved community stakeholders. The Wichita program emphasized a school-community partnership and the use of the local high school building for after school activities, evening programs, and a neighborhood court. The three jurisdictions all emphasized community policing and the use of indicators that varied from place to place. Results of the programs have included reduced crime and gang activity and large numbers of community service hours as a result of the community court. Contact information