Community Development for Crime Control Building Our Way Out of Crime COPS National Conference Washington, DC July 29, 2006 8:30-10:00 am Panelists Lisa Belsky Community Development Expert, LISC, NYC Kimiko Black Gilmore Director, Community Relations, Swope Community Builders, Kansas City, MO Tag Gleason Commander, Violent Crimes Section, Seattle Police Dept. Bill Geller Director, Geller & Associates, IL Topics . What’s the big idea? The strategy . Do Cops Care About Neighborhood Blight & Disinvestment? . Replacement of Crime Hot Spots with Community Assets— Some quick snapshots . Can Police spur & shape development solutions to crime, disorder & fear?— A closer look @ Seattle & Kansas City . Obstacles & opportunities for police-developer collaboration What’s the big idea? A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE… Community Developers Replace Liabilities with Assets + Police, Prosecutors & Other Law Enforcement Control Crime, Disorder & Fear = Arresting Blight + Developing Safety If your strategic alliance reaches “critical mass,” you get “interaction effects”… .Reducing crime spurs investment & development. .Development converts crime hot spots to assets. .Crime control & development get easier. . + 1 = 3 Do Cops Care About Neighborhood Blight & Disinvestment? Do cops care about? … Image of littered underpass Do cops care about?... Image of littered woods Do cops care about? … Image of broken window Do cops care about?... Image of rundown urban area How physical locations fit into crime theory… Image of crime traingle LOCATIONS (Dens of Iniquity—and Inequity) OFFENDERS VICTIMS (Ravenous Wolves) (Sitting Ducks) VICTIMS (Sitting Ducks) Successful Replacement of Crime Hot Spots with Community Assets some quick snapshots of success South Bronx: From burned out rubble... Image of rundown urban area (South Bronx) South Bronx: and children with dim prospects Image of rundown urban area (South Bronx) South Bronx: …to family homes & bustling businesses Image of new homes Image of clean urban street corner New homes on on Charlotte Street Thriving bodegas & other small businesses South Bronx: In the development pipeline… Image of new apartment building plans Melrose/Morrisania Corridor, South Bronx Minneapolis: American Indian Neighborhood Development Corp. builds the “Community Safety Center” . An open-air drug market becomes a thriving commercial plaza, including a police substation Image of police substation Boston: Uphams Corner Revitalization . A CDC buys & renovates buildings at a blighted, crime ridden, commercial intersection & makes loans to support successful new shops there Image of street corner before revitalization Image of street corner after revitalization South Los Angeles: Vernon-Central CSI . gang activity, drug sales, prostitution, public drinking and graffiti . 22% of city's gang population lives in South LA (3% of total population) Image of workers cleaning graffiti off wall South Los Angeles: Outcomes . Removed 250,000 sq. feet of graffiti in target area in first 4 months . Reported crime down 56%, arrests up 18% . New shops opened & existing businesses expanded Image of new store Won LAPD crime prevention award Replacing nuisance properties: Revitalization of Payne Avenue in St. Paul Notorius strip club redeveloped into a restaurant & community meeting place Before and after images of street corner revitalization policing + development spurs crime drops Revitalization of Payne Avenue in St. Paul . 26% drop in Part 1 crimes & 25% drop in Quality of Life Calls for Service (QLC) on Payne Ave. . Target area improved more than comparable areas Bar graph of St. Paul Minnesota crime rate 1998-2001 I get it: Blight BAD Development GOOD What do you want ME to do about it? Hang on to your utility belt… Can police spur & shape development solutions to crime, disorder and fear? A CLOSER LOOK AT A FEW CASES where cops made a difference Seattle: Blackberry Jungle & Violent Club into Pacific Rim Center Great Restaurant Kansas City Dump & Danger Zone into H&R Block Call Center + New Shopping Plaza Seattle International District: “Blackberry Jungle” BEFORE: Dangerous transient camp… Image of littered underpass Image of transient camp in woods A Block-long mess & hiding place for offenders & stolen property “Blackberry Jungle”: midway… Previously immovable Zoning Obstacles… …meet the irresistible force of Officer Tom Doran, supported by Capt. Tag Gleason, Chief Norm Stamper & their CDC partners Image of construction zone Seattle International District: “Blackberry Jungle” AFTER: A community asset Image of police officers and community members Image of new commercial building A Block-long commercial & residential facility + jobs for residents Seattle International District: Violent Club Converted to Cambodian Restaurant Image of new restaurant Better Food + jobs for residents + No More Violent Crimes Seattle International District: Partners: Officer Tom Doran & Aileen Balahadia Images of new restaurant opening Celebration Dinner @ Phnom Penh + Tom & Aileen Explain It Kansas City, MO: Transformation of Blue Parkway . CDC cleans up hazardous area—illegal dumping & stray animals—to clear the way for… Images of littered lot clean-up . 160,000 square foot commercial center on the site, including a… Kansas City’s Blue Parkway (continued) Image of planned commerical building Kansas City’s Blue Parkway (continued) … police substation & workout Facility Cost to PD? $0 Image of police substation architectural plans Kansas City: Swope Parkway Redevelopment . H&R Block Service & Technology Center developed on a previous dump site & crime hot spot… . A KCPD captain’s role . Created 300 jobs and brought a $14.2 million payroll to an underserved minority community Image of new commercial building Kansas City: Scops of Swope Community Builder's Redevelopment Image of Kansas City's Swope Community revitalization plan Obstacles & Opportunities… Opportunities & Obstacles for police-developer collaboration Is policing easier if developers help? What do CDC assets mean for police? . Brick 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 . Attracting private investment The gold standard of police – developer collaboration… . A strategic alliance of a Police Dept. & CDC(s) .Police & CDCs help each other with CORE business . Rhode Island Development expert advises the cops on priorities & tactics The gold standard of police – developer collaboration… Development Experts do a “Community Development 101” briefing for police commanders—as a foundation for synergistic public safety & development The gold standard of police – developer collaboration… A police manager reports from his police-developer break out group: “key stakeholders” for the blighted site cops & developers are planning to address The gold standard of police – developer collaboration… .Police & Developers discuss how to spur development that can “build- away” crime .Police & CDCs are accountable to each other for follow through The gold standard of police – developer collaboration… Police & Developers brainstorm priorities & protocols for picking local targets to “build their way out” of crime & blight problems If this is so good, why can’t all the cats do it? Partnerships among orgs with unequal power The gospel according to Woody Allen: “The Lion & the Lamb shall lie down together, but the lamb won’t get much sleep.” If this is so good, why don’t all the cats do it? Challenges to Police-Community Developer… . Conversations . Cooperation . Collaboration Can a CDC work with the cops without losing its own identity & core mission? Challenges to Police- Community Developer… . Conversations . Cooperation . Collaboration Police-Community Partnerships: Some Ideas about overcoming the obstacles . Understand you are in a strategic alliance to bolster mission success for all partners . Behave in a business-like manner: --pick achievable short- & mid-term goals; --plan & budget --hold people accountable for tasks --assess progress; etc. Police-Community Partnerships: Some Ideas about overcoming the obstacles . Structure for success --paid coordinator --co-chairs of program core team --agree which decisions will be shared --transition plan to survive staff transfers . Communicate often so midcourse corrections can be made Police-Community Partnerships: Some Ideas about overcoming the obstacles . Be efficient—draw on each partner’s talents as the objectives & tasks dictate . Be effective—pick winnable battles . Be daring—as wins accumulate, aim higher Police-Community Partnerships: Some Ideas about overcoming the obstacles . Be generous—share credit . Be strategic—build on successes in a logical sequence as stepping stones to next victories . Be aware—learn lessons from partnerships in other cities…through CSI & other means Lisa Belsky lbelsky@liscnet.org Kimiko Black Gilmore KBlackGilmore@ Swopecommunitybuilders.org Tag Gleason Tag.Gleason@ci.seattle.wa.us Bill Geller wageller@aol.com