Building Our Way Out of Crime:
Community Development and its Role in Crime Reduction
October 21, 2005
16th Annual Problem-Oriented Policing Conference
Charlotte, North Carolina
Agenda
 Exploring the link between public safety and
community development
 Evidence of success from community-police alliances
 Community developers: who they are, how they work
 Terms of engagement
 Closer look at a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police
Department experience
 Questions
Link between public safety and community development
Blight & other
Community
Decline
↔
Crime
Revitalization
& other
Community
Development
↔
Public Safety
Link between public safety and community development
“[R]esearch underscores the importance of
activities that fall under the broad umbrella of
‘community building.’ …. [T]he message for
social policy is clear: Building strong
communities ‘from the ground up’… will
contribute to the reduction in violence and fear,
and will create a sense of safety.”
- Jeremy Travis (2004)
Source: “Building from the Ground Up: Strategies for Creating Safe and Just
Communities,” in Journal of Social Thought: “Religion & Spirituality in Social Work” (2004)
Limits of many efforts to eradicate crime hot spots
Board up bad
building without
replacing it
Creating productive institutional alliances
Police
Department
Community
Developers
Full-time paid
Coordinator
Technical Assistance
Providers (LISC)
What have been the outcomes of community
developer-police alliances?
 Elimination of persistent hot spots
 Significant drops in crime
 Brick-and-mortar development, including high quality
affordable housing and attractive retail space
 New businesses and jobs
 Greater resident engagement, “eyes on the street,”
social capital, and collective efficacy
Replacing nuisance properties:
Revitalization of Payne Avenue in St. Paul
Notorious strip club
redeveloped into a restaurant
and community meeting space
Crime reduction:
Graffiti Free Zone in South Los Angeles
 Gang activity targeted
by LAPD, Neighborhood
Prosecutor and a CDC
 Resulted in the removal
of 150,000 square feet of
graffiti and a 50% drop
in new graffiti tags
 LAPD recognized the
program as a major
contributor to a 16%
drop in gang crime
Crime reduction:
Revitalization of Payne Avenue in St. Paul
 Police anti-crime efforts combined with CDC development
contributed to a 26% drop in Part 1 crime reports and a 25%
drop in Quality of Life Calls for Service (QLC) on Payne Ave.
 Changes in the target area were much better than those in
comparable neighborhoods
3000
-25%
2500
+24%
2000
1500
+11%
+10%
2001 Pt 1
-26%
1000
-8%
-2%
1998 QLC
-23%
500
2001 QLC
0
Payne Ave
TARGET AREA
1998 Pt 1
Rice Street
Concord/Robert
COMPARISON AREAS
Snelling Ave
Real Estate Development:
Transformation of Blue Parkway in Kansas City, MO
 CDC cleans up an area that is hazardous to residents due
to illegal dumping and stray animals to clear the way for
development of a major retail center
Kansas City’s Blue Parkway (continued)
 Police help secure tenants for a 160,000 square foot
commercial center on the site
 Center includes a police substation and workout facility
Real Estate Development:
Community Safety Center in Minneapolis
 American Indian Neighborhood Development Corp. develops a
commercial plaza, including a police substation, in a spot
where open air drug sales previously deterred merchants
New business development:
Redevelopment of Columbia Plaza in Seattle
 Commercial area transformed
from a violent crime hotspot to a
thriving multi-cultural business
center
 Part I crime declined 18% in the
target area compared to 8%
citywide
New Business Development:
Uphams Corner Revitalization in Dorchester, MA
 CDC purchases and renovates properties in a blighted,
crime ridden commercial intersection
 New businesses open with help from CDC loan funds
Before
After
Job Creation & Violent Crime Reduction:
“Blackberry Jungle” to Pacific Rim Plaza in Seattle
 Dangerous transient camp…
Next to Blackberry Jungle
“Blackberry Jungle”
Job Creation & Violent Crime Reduction:
“Blackberry Jungle” to Pacific Rim Plaza in Seattle
… replaced by a multi-million dollar commercial and residential
property that created 100 new jobs
New development in place of “Blackberry Jungle”
Job Creation:
Swope Parkway Redevelopment in Kansas City, MO
 H&R Block Service &
Technology Center developed,
with help of police captain, on
a site formerly known for
illegal dumping and criminal
activity
 Created 300 jobs and brought a
$14.2 million payroll to an
underserved minority
community
What is a community development corporation?
 Non-profit corporation governed by local residents
 Mission: To revitalize a specific neighborhood or
geographic area (usually low-income)
 Comprehensive agenda includes:
- Residential and commercial real estate development
- Social services, such as job training and placement or
youth programs
- Community organizing
What are community development intermediaries?
 Major national intermediaries:
 Purpose: To help local community developers
transform troubled neighborhoods by mobilizing
corporate, government and philanthropic support for
neighborhood revitalization
What is the role for national intermediaries?
 Make loans, grants and equity investments to advance
community development goals
 Promote supportive policies at the local, state and
national level
 Provide technical and management assistance to CDCs
In 2004, LISC activities included…
$110 million in loans for CDC projects
$584 million in equity invested
$30 million in grants to CDCs
What are CDC assets and what do they mean for you?
 Access to capital markets
 Bricks and mortar development
 Property management
 Job creation and job training/placement
 Social services or partnerships with service providers
 Youth programs
 Advocacy and political action
 Community and merchant organizing
Terms of engagement
 Collaboration in planning and problem-solving
 Information sharing
 Power sharing
 Resource sharing
 Non-traditional roles
The Grier Heights
Neighborhood Action
Team
FULL TIME TEAM APPROACH IMPLEMENTED
IN LATE 1999.
PILOT PROGRAMS OPERATED
THROUGHOUT 2000.
“Enter into interactive
collaborative partnerships…”
Action Teams consist of:
•SPONSOR
•FACILITATOR
•COMMUNITY RESIDENTS
•COMMUNITY POLICE OFFICER(S)
•COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT INSPECTOR
•HOUSING INSPECTOR
•NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES SPECIALIST
“Interactive collaborative
partnerships…”
TEAM MEMBERS ATTENDED 32 HOURS OF
LEADERSHIP AND TEAM BUILDING
TRAINING AT PFEIFFER UNIVERSITY IN
DECEMBER 1999. MISSION STATEMENT
AND VISION STATEMENT WERE WRITTEN.
CITY EMPLOYEES MOVED TO OFFICE
SPACE AT THE CHARLOTTEMECKLENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT’S
BAKER SERVICE CENTER. ALL CITY
EMPLOYEES WORK FROM SAME
BUILDING, INCREASING OPPORTUNITY TO
INTERACT AND COMMUNICATE.
“IDENTIFY COMMUNITY PROBLEMS…”
“Identify community problems…”
•
OPEN COMMUNITY MEETING FOR
“VISIONING” SESSION. THE RESIDENTS SAID
WHAT THEY WANTED TO SEE FOR THEIR
COMMUNITY.
•
TEAM MEMBERS SPOKE AT
MONTHLY COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
•
TEAM MEMBERS MET WITH PRESIDENT OF
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT
ORGANIZATION.
•
TEAM MEMBERS MET WITH
NEIGHBORHOOD LANDLORDS.
“Establish priorities…”
•
MUST CARRY OVER UNFINISHED
ITEMS FROM PREVIOUS PLAN.
•
TOOK COMMUNITY SUGGESTIONS
FROM “VISIONING” SESSION AND
ADDED TEAM MEMBER SUGGESTED
ITEMS.
•
ITEMS WERE CATEGORIZED AND
PRIORITIZED.
•
EVALUATED ITEMS: SOME WERE
ADDED, OTHERS DELETED DUE TO
TIME CONSTRAINTS, PRACTICALITY,
ETC.
“Integrated approach to the
delivery of needed services…”
ACTION PLAN AREAS OF FOCUS:
•CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY
•THE HOUSING STOCK
•COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT
•EDUCATION AND TRAINING
•STRENGTHENING THE COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATION
•YOUTH AND CHILD PROGRAMS
•ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
•INFRASTRUCTURE
•TRANSPORTATION
CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY
TOTAL
OFFENSES
1996: 1040
1997: 890
1998: 847
1999: 829
20% Decrease in overall crime
rate over four years
“Develop innovative responses to
problems…”
CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY
• REDUCE
DRUG ACTIVITY
• REDUCE THE OVERALL CRIME RATE
• REDUCE REPEAT CALLS FOR SERVICE
• ELIMINATE INADEQUATE LIGHTING
AND REDUCE FEAR OF CRIME
IMPROVE THE HOUSING STOCK
IMPROVE THE HOUSING STOCK
IMPROVE THE HOUSING STOCK
DEBRIS FILLED VACANT LOTS
ABANDONED SHOPPING CARTS
“Develop innovative responses
to problems…”
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT
• CONCERNS ABOUT
BULK ITEMS
AND CITY CODE VIOLATIONS
• TRASH AND LITTER ON VACANT
LOTS
• ABANDONED SHOPPING CARTS
“Develop innovative responses
to problems…”
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
• ORGANIZE AND TRAIN BLOCK CAPTAINS
• COMPUTER TRAINING
• WORK TO ESTABLISH A TRAINING AND
RECREATIONAL FACILITY
• JOB TRAINING AND PLACEMENT
• REACH OUT TO GROWING ETHNIC POPULATION
• FIRST AID TRAINING
• HOUSE KEEPING, MAINTENANCE, AND BASIC
HOME REPAIR
STRENGTHENING THE COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATION
“Develop innovative responses
to problems…”
STRENGTHENING THE
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
• IMPROVE INFORMATON
DISTRIBUTION
• RECRUIT NEW MEMBERS FOR
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT
ORGANIZATION
• ESTABLISH A RECREATION
COMMITTEE
YOUTH PROGRAMS
“Develop innovative responses
to problems…”
YOUTH AND CHILD
PROGRAMS
COORDINATE YOUTH PROGRAMS
•
• CHILD DAY CARE AND HEALTH CARE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• DEVELOPMENT OF VACANT LOTS
• RESEARCH OPTION OF DINING TRAIN
TRANSPORTATION
• E-Z RIDER PROGRAM
THE COOPERATION BETWEEN VARIOUS CITY,
COUNTY, AND PRIVATE DEPARTMENTS AND
ORGANIZATIONS WILL ALLOW THE GRIER
HEIGHTS ACTION TEAM TO TAKE A CREATIVE
APPROACH TO PROBLEM SOLVING THAT WILL
ENSURE SUCCESS.
GRIER HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD ACTION TEAM
MISSION STATEMENT
THE GRIER HEIGHTS ACTION TEAM IS COMMITTED TO IMPROVE THE
QUALITY OF LIFE AND BRING STABILITY TO THE COMMUNITY
THROUGH:
 BUILDING PROBLEM-SOLVING PARTNERSHIPS
 PROVIDING TRAINING AND EDUCATION
 IMPROVED DELIVERY OF CITY SERVICES
 FACILITATING ACCESS TO RESOURCES
 CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT
 IMPROVING INFRASTRUCTURE
RESULTING IN A SELF-SUFFICIENT, HEALTHY COMMUNITY.
WE VALUE: OUR YOUTH, OUR PARTNERS, ACCOUNTABILITY,
INTEGRITY, RESIDENTS OF GRIER HEIGHTS, CUSTOMER SERVICE,
RESPECT, OPEN COMMUNICATIONS, TEAM MEMBERS, AND POSITIVE
CHANGE.
QUESTIONS???
“Police-CDC partnerships are not simply another version of the
police-resident partnerships that have become popular in
community policing. They are a specific type of relationship that
commands the distinct resources of an important institution… It
seems especially important to recognize the breadth of strategies
that police and CDCs can pursue together."
- David Thacher, Program in Criminal Justice
Policy and Management, Harvard University
Source: “The Community Safety Initiative: Lessons Learned.” Harvard University Working
Paper #00-05-17
Building Partnerships for Safer Communities
Lisa Belsky, Senior Program Director, LISC
lbelsky@lisc.org
Bill Geller, Director, Geller & Associates
Senior Public Safety Consultant to CSI
wageller@aol.com
Brian Cunningham, Sergeant
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Dept.
bcunningham@cmpd.org
US Department of Justice
Community Capacity
Development Office
The Problem Analysis Triangle