Community-police partnerships are essential for law enforcement to successfully address crime in communities. Often, there are barriers to fully implementing effective and sustainable crime reduction collaboration among residents, police, and community stakeholders (e.g., business owners, faith-based leaders, local government).

A meaningful collaborative process with sustained community engagement ensures that community members have a voice in their own public safety and provides the crucial foundation for strong and effective community-police partnerships.

Through thoughtful leadership and collaboration with residents and community partners, police departments can help address crime and improve the quality of life for community members. The Innovations in Community-Based Crime Reduction (CBCR) program—part of the Innovation Suite of Programs at the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice—invests in community-level, cross-sector partnerships that use data, evidence, and innovation to create effective crime reduction strategies. CBCR encourages place-based crime prevention and community revitalization strategies to reduce crime and build community-police collaboration. The CBCR program emphasizes a comprehensive approach involving community residents to identify problems and implement solutions that strengthen communities for years to come.

IACP Training and Technical Support for CBCR

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) plays a crucial role in the implementation of CBCR strategies by working with the grantee sites to develop action plans and implementation tools to not only reduce crime, but also strengthen relationships between the police and the communities they serve. In partnership with the University of Cincinnati (UC) and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), the IACP serves as a BJA-funded training and technical assistance (TTA) provider and utilizes a variety of methods to deliver TTA to support CBCR grantee sites in planning and implementation:

■ Customized technical assistance from a robust cadre of subject matter experts across a variety of topic areas

■ Site assessments utilizing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis approach to enable greater understanding of the assets and needs of each site

■ Peer-to-peer learning opportunities between sites through information exchange, networking, and site visits

■ Orientation meetings for newly funded CBCR grantee sites

■ Ongoing webinar trainings and publications

■ Evaluation of early action projects and action plans

■ CBCR Connect—an online peer-to-peer community of practice for CBCR grantee sites to network, share resources, and engage in discussions

■ Online library of publications, tools, and resources related to community-based crime reduction

The IACP, with UC and UNLV, assist CBCR grantee sites by using a TTA approach that centers on these core community-based crime reduction strategies:

■ Place-Based
■ Community-Oriented
■ Data-Driven
■ Partnership-Building

Place-Based

CBCR grantee sites target a specific geographic area within their community with high levels of crime or certain types of crime in order to most effectively direct resources and positively influence multiple social disorganization factors, such as a concentration of high-risk residents, limited infrastructure, and neighborhood physical conditions. Crime reduction efforts often include identifying the physical conditions that increase the risk of crime, then addressing these targets through assessments and review of land use, code enforcement, and nuisance laws.

Place-Based Strategy in Action

In Providence, Rhode Island, the “blue house” sat unoccupied on one of the most dangerous blocks in the Olneyville neighborhood. Seeking to transform the block into a safe and vibrant space, the Olneyville Housing Corporation worked with local police and community members to remove the “blue house” and build new affordable housing units in its place. The CBCR grant also supported partnerships that allowed the Rhode Island Equity Zone and United Way to replace derelict properties with energy-efficient, single-family homes, as well as turn foreclosed properties into apartments. Years after the grant period, crime levels have steadily decreased, and this area of Providence is now a welcoming, vibrant community.

Community-Oriented

In CBCR, residents and neighbors, alongside law enforcement and criminal justice system partners, are key to keeping communities safe. To catalyze and sustain change, there must be active involvement and leadership by neighborhood residents throughout the process. Understanding residents’ views of neighborhood change is critical. Engaging in community-oriented strategies should be driven by local data and needs and should comprehensively address critical issues.

Community-Oriented Strategy in Action

Rainier Beach, located in southwest Seattle, Washington, established A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth (ABSPY) in 2013 to protect youth from being both victims and perpetrators of crime. The community-oriented effort resulted in the establishment of a diverse task force of more than 100 community members. Partners devoted time to building the capacity for data-driven problem-solving, such as the Safe Passage project, which addresses youth presence on and around school campuses by strategically locating “place managers” to help manage behavior and reduce conflicts involving youth. As a result of the project’s success in reducing crime, the City of Seattle continued to fund the initiative after CBCR funding ended in 2016.

Data-Driven

CBCR grantee sites work with local law enforcement and community stakeholders to conduct a broad examination of crime drivers in hot spots and consider appropriate evidence-based and innovative strategies to address them. Collaborative local partnerships that include research partners can help a community to assess program implementation and intended impacts, as well as gaps in services, strategies, and partners. Law enforcement agencies are required to serve as the lead or a partner for developing strategies and support for hot spot analysis or other data evaluation to inform the CBCR approach.

Data-Driven Strategy in Action

The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, neighborhood of Mantua faced a 20 percent vacancy rate in local housing, which criminals exploited to create an open-air drug market. The Mantua CBCR project sought to turn the tide by strengthening the City Block Captain program and creating connections to city services. This included implementing a four-part training that aimed to develop eyes and ears on the street, identify basic needs of residents, link residents to local services, and help improve the visual appearance of their blocks. By the end of the program, residents’ use of the Philadelphia 311 service had increased 75 percent. Of the seven original hot spots targeted in Mantua, only two continue to be active crime hot spots.

Partnership-Building

A strong set of partners and trust between them and community residents are critical for implementing comprehensive strategies in high-crime neighborhoods. CBCR sites work to strengthen cross-sector partnerships and build and enhance trust among partners so they can work effectively with community residents.

Partnership-Building Strategy in Action

Chelsea, Massachusetts, received CBCR funds in 2017. Like many other metropolitan Boston communities, it has experienced an uptick in substance abuse violations as a result of the closing of a 450-bed shelter in Boston. The Chelsea Police Department created a task force called The Chelsea Hub, composed of four officers who focus exclusively on building partnerships with business owners, property owners, and residents to address concerns in the area. Task force members, including court personnel, social service workers, city inspectors, business owners, and church staff work together with individuals and families to develop immediate, coordinated, and integrated responses.

Conclusion

The CBCR program is designed to meet the unique needs of communities with persistent crime problems. By focusing on concentrated hot spots of crime within communities, the CBCR program aims to reduce violent crime, dismantle gang activity, assist communities struggling with drug abuse, and support law enforcement agencies by integrating enforcement strategies into community-based crime reduction efforts. The IACP plays a critical role in the CBCR program by delivering comprehensive TTA focused on helping sites plan and implement place-based, community-oriented, data-driven, and partnership-building strategies to reduce crime, enhance community collaboration, improve community safety, and spur revitalization.

Please cite as

Julie Malear and Kelly Burke, “Supporting Innovations in Community-Based Crime Reduction,” IACP@Work, Police Chief 87, no. 6 (June 2020): 66–68.