U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Image of United States Department of Justice seal Community Oriented Policing Services logo INNOVATIONS Promising Strategies from the Field A National Overview Image of a man talking on the phone Acknowledgements Acknowledgments The COPS Innovations Promising Strategies from the Field series is a collaborative effort among the Institute for Law and Justice, local law enforcement agencies, and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). At the COPS Office, Amy Schapiro managed the project and Noah Teates and Kelly Tapp edited the document for publication. The project team also wishes to thank the following agencies for their participation in this project: Akron (OH) Police Department, San Diego (CA) Police Department, Hollywood (FL) Police Department, Lansing (MI) Police Department, the Illinois Regional Institute for Community Policing, Indianapolis (IN) Police Department, Westminster (CA) Police Department, Houston (TX) Police Department, Salt Lake City (UT) Police Department, Buffalo (NY) Police Department, and the Oak Harbor (WA) Police Department. Without their time and cooperation we would not have been able to showcase their work. Promising Strategies from the Field: A National Overview This project was supported through cooperative agreement #2001CK-WX-K092 by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The opinions contained in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice. Table of Contents Section Page Letter from the Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Innovative Uses of COPS Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Akron Develops Crisis Intervention Team . . . . . . . . . . . 3 San Diego Reaches Out to Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Hollywood SROs Develop New Youth Programs . . . . . . 9 Lansing Deploys Crime Analysis and Mapping Tools . . 13 Illinois Launches Online Problem-Solving Tool . . . . . . . 17 Indianapolis PALs Around with Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Westminster Takes on Domestic Violence. . . . . . . . . . . 25 Houston Dials 311 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Salt Lake City Unites to Fight Meth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Buffalo Reduces Street Prostitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Oak Harbor Combats Bullying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 TellCOPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Table of Contents Image of COPS Director, Carl R. Peed The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (the COPS Office) is pleased to announce a new COPS Innovations: Promising Strategies from the Field series featuring COPS grantees from around the country. The COPS Office has partnered with communities large and small to advance community policing. COPS programs fund efforts to make communities safer by adding community policing officers to our streets and schools, investing in crime-fighting technologies, building a national training network, supporting innovative policing practices, and fostering strong problem-solving partnerships. This publication, and future volumes, will highlight community policing practices among COPS grantees. COPS hopes that by sharing these approaches other jurisdictions will be able to learn from and replicate these innovations. The agencies represented in this document are just a sampling of the nearly 35,000 grants the COPS Office has awarded since 1994 to more than 12,800 state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. COPS grants not only help reduce violent crime, they help law enforcement address persistent quality-of-life issues ranging from bullying to street prostitution. This new series of publications is one more way in which the COPS Office is reaching out to the field to provide information and resources that will benefit your agency. Please note that the Promising Strategies from the Field project is ongoing and we welcome hearing from you about your agency's accomplishments. To do so, please email my staff at tellcops@usdoj.gov. All of us at COPS appreciate the opportunity to share our grantees' successes and help law enforcement keep every community in America safe. Carl R. Peed Director Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview Introduction The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has invested more than $9 billion to implement and enhance community policing efforts in tribal, state, and local jurisdictions since 1994. Over those eight years, COPS issued more than 35,500 grants to more than 12,800 agencies across the U.S. These grants tackle important and immediate needs of communities across America through 27 innovative grant programs. COPS' Universal Hiring Program (UHP) and Making Officer Redeployment Effective (MORE) grants help agencies increase the number of officers on the street who can engage in community policing activities. The COPS in Schools (CIS) grant program places law enforcement professionals in schools to work on a variety of issues and foster community partnerships. COPS has provided nearly $6 billion in assistance to tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies through these three programs alone. Other COPS grant programs focus more narrowly on specific issues. For example, COPS funded innovative community policing approaches to the increase in youth violence associated with firearms in 1995. COPS funded agencies facing significant gang-related problems in their communities in 1996. COPS funds helped small communities retain COPS-funded officers through the Small Community Grant Program in 1998. COPS awarded funds to tribal agencies for training, equipment, technology, and additional officers through the Tribal Mental Health Community Safety Initiative in 2000. COPS Tribal Resources Grant Program (TRGP) has helped tribal law enforcement agencies keep their communities safer since 1999. COPS funding has made a difference. By working to put more law enforcement officers on the street, the COPS Office increased the number of officers actively engaged in community policing activities. According to the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics Survey (LEMAS), about 22,000 officers practiced community policing in 1997. That number rose more than five-fold by 1999. Other research conducted by the University of Nebraska (2001) suggests that COPS hiring programs have helped to make a significant reduction in local crime rates in cities with populations greater than 10,000. Promising Strategies From The Field In addition to these grant programs, COPS works hard to deliver community policing training and technical assistance to America's state, local, and tribal law enforcement professionals and the communities they serve. COPS funds a national network of Regional Community Policing Institutes, which provides innovative community policing training to law enforcement officers, other government agencies, and community members. More than 216,000 people have taken advantage of this training. COPS also funds the Community Policing Consortium, which is made up of five of the leading police organizations in the U.S. and has provided technical assistance to over 5,000 law enforcement agencies across the country. The summary of case studies that follows highlights the projects of 11 law enforcement agencies who found innovative uses for COPS funding. As more agencies report back on their progress in implementing COPS-funded community policing strategies, this series will showcase those efforts. The COPS Office hopes that in presenting them others may benefit from these experiences, and that other agencies can learn from, replicate, and improve on these promising strategies from the field. Innovative Uses of COPS Funding Akron Develops Crisis Intervention Team Image of police officer talking to citizens The Akron, Ohio Police Department used a COPS Universal Hiring Program (UHP) grant to develop a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). The CIT ensures more effective and appropriate responses to calls for service involving mentally ill suspects. Promising Strategies From The Field 4 Alternative Responses The Akron Police Department first worked with the Summit County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board (ADM Board) to develop a mental health care response to supplement traditional enforcement tactics. For minor offenses or disturbances, people showing signs of mental illness are now taken to jail only if deemed responsible for their own behavior or if someone wishes to prosecute. Others are transported directly to a hospital, mental health emergency facility, or psychiatric evaluation center. The new plan also offers additional medical alternatives to incarceration, including referrals to medical detoxification programs, rehabilitation programs, or social service agencies. The next step was to build a specialized CIT, made up of 15 police officers. These officers were selected for their excellent verbal communication skills and desire to help people in emotional crisis. They continue to respond to the same types of calls for service as other officers, but all calls involving mentally ill individuals are channeled to the team. COPS funds, which were used to hire 15 patrol officers, enabled the CIT officers to focus the necessary time and attention to these calls. CIT officers respond to about 400 crisis calls a year. Hiring Grants Several COPS programs help law enforcement agencies hire officers to implement or expand community policing efforts. COPS hiring grants have helped more than 12,800 American law enforcement agencies hire more than 116,500 new community policing officers by distributing close to $7.1 billion dollars since 1994. Crisis Intervention Team Training Approximately 50 officers are now trained to serve as CIT members. CIT officers complete a one-week, 40-hour course in mental health issues developed through the collective expertise of the police and its mental health services partners, including the county ADM Board, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, local social services, and psychiatric emergency service centers. The training focuses on recognizing signs and symptoms of mental illness, improving deescalation techniques, increasing responsiveness to the specific needs Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview of people involved in emotional or mental health crises, and arranging for appropriate treatment or referrals. An interactive final examination requires students to correctly diagnose and resolve a mental health issue acted out by professional medical actors from the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Cross-training of officers and mental health case workers includes field trips to mental health facilities and ride-alongs. Results Initial results show a decrease in the number of mentally ill persons incarcerated and an increase in the satisfaction among persons experiencing mental health crises and their families that they are receiving timely, expert treatment. The mental health community has embraced this initiative based on the compassionate, skilled responses of CIT officers, who emphasize the use of non-violent tactics to deescalate potentially volatile situations and minimize any potential human injury. The ability to "drop off" those experiencing mental or emotional crises in the care of an appropriate health facility allows officers to get back on the street more quickly and maintains their satisfaction with the program. The police department also reports reduced calls for SWAT service, decreased demand for hostage negotiators, and continuing requests from Emergency Medical Services and field officers for CIT responses. San Diego Reaches Out to Youth Image of police officers and school children The San Diego City Schools Police Department (San Diego Unified School District) has used both COPS in Schools and Universal Hiring Program grants to add 19 full-time police officers to its force since 1996. The agency permanently assigned a dedicated Campus Police Officer (CPO) to each of the district's 16 traditional senior high schools. The Department deployed the remaining officers as patrol officers responsible for the middle schools, junior high schools, and district- owned facilities, including 26 child development centers, a transportation center, a maintenance facility, an education center, and a number of charter schools. An officer visits each middle and junior high school at least once a day unless call volume is unusually high. Each visit usually allows an officer to stay at the campus for about an hour. Promising Strategies From The Field 8 CPO Responsibilities Unlike the school resource officers (SROs) in many jurisdictions, San Diego's CPOs are employees of the school district (under its police department), but their responsibilities are similar to those of traditional SROs, who are based in schools but employed by local police agencies. Each CPO takes time to interact with students, create programs to reduce violent crime, gather intelligence about and interact with gangs, identify and reduce acts of vandalism, and mentor students. CPOs have also delivered over 500 presentations. At the elementary school level, topics include stranger danger and bicycle safety, while presentations for secondary school students include law and student rights, and law enforcement as a career. Programs for Youth CPO involvement with several programs illustrates how they put community policing into action. For example: Parent Patrols: Parent volunteers help supervise children while they travel to and from school. CPOs supporting this effort receive training in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and School Safety Inspections. Six to Six Program: This program provides a safe place for over 19,000 children before and after school at no cost to their families. Initiated by the city of San Diego in collaboration with San Diego city schools, it offers academic enrichment, homework assistance, arts and crafts, recreation, and sports. CPOs and community service offices provide security services for Six to Six locations and serve as positive role models for the children. More than 150 community agencies as well as the city and county schools and local government officials work together to make Six to Six successful. Universal Hiring Program COPS UHP grants have helped American law enforcement agencies hire more than 64,000 new community policing officers by distributing close to four billion dollars since 1995. Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview Juvenile Extreme Team Camp: This camp is located in the nearby San Diego Mountains and has involved over 100 middle school students. The camp teaches problem-solving skills using the SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment) model to help children learn strategies to overcome problems. Four CPOs participated in the first camp. Results The San Diego Unified School District has experienced an overall reduction in violence and youth crime on and around its campuses since deploying the CPOs. The increase in the patrol force has also helped reduce response times and improve the level of service delivered to schools and district-owned facilities. The Parent Patrol program helped increase parent and student awareness of safety issues and was instrumental in reducing loitering and property crimes on campuses. Intelligence gathered by the CPOs has proven to be a valuable resource for gang detectives in preventing gang-related crime, and CPO presence on campus and interactions with students has often defused gang situations. The rewards of police-community collaboration are apparent in the development and success of programs such as Six to Six and Parent Patrol. The San Diego City Schools Police Department is now recognized as a vital community resource and is frequently asked to work with other community organizations. Hollywood SROs Develop New Youth Programs Image of police officer talking to students Florida's Hollywood Police Department combined a COPS in Schools (CIS) grant with local and federal funding to double the number of School Resource Officers (SROs) deployed in its schools. All SROs complete a 40-hour Basic SRO course, and most also undergo advanced SRO training. The city of Hollywood, Florida has 140,000 residents including about 30,000 school-aged children. Before CIS funding, the Hollywood Police Department (HPD) assigned one SRO to each of the city's three high schools. The other four visited the city's four middle schools, 14 elementary schools, and 11 private schools. The HPD's objective was to have either a full-time or part-time SRO assigned to each of the city's schools and to build stronger law enforcement relationships with students and the community. Promising Strategies From The Field Combining Local and Federal Funding Sources COPS awarded the HPD a CIS grant in 1999 that enabled the department to fund five SROs for three years. The Law Enforcement Forfeiture Trust Fund contributed enough money to support two more SROs, and the Broward County School Board provided an annual $12,000 for each SRO. The HPD now included 14 SROs, which the department assigned as follows: one SRO works full-time in each of the three high schools and four middle schools, six SROs cover two elementary schools each, and one SRO works in one public elementary school and teaches the D.A.R.E. program in 11 private schools. The HPD also invested an additional $2.4 million in community youth programs during the 1999-2000 school year. Results The department began creatively expanding its youth-oriented initiatives as soon as the SROs were in place with a mix of established and innovative new programs, including the following: Youth Mentoring Program: The Broward County School Board recruits, screens, and matches mentors with children. Memorial Regional Hospital and The Starting Place provide mentors and work with the HPD to maintain a referral system for at-risk youth. About 30 other service organizations also provide free assistance to these children. HPD employees (sworn and civilian) who mentor are compensated for an hour of this time during the workweek. HPD Reading: Similar to the mentoring program, HPD employees are compensated for one hour per week to work with elementary students. Student Crime Watch: This national program has been introduced to all Hollywood schools. Student volunteers typically receive communication radios and patrol vests. Other student participation programs include Gun Stoppers/Crime Stoppers, Bomb Threat Hotline, Safety Patrol, and Conflict Mediation. Do What's Right Program: Students who unselfishly perform a "Good Samaritan" act are selected by the school to receive rewards and recognition for their actions. The police department solicits donations from area businesses. Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview 13 Truancy Reduction: SROs and the State's Attorney's Office work collaboratively with information collected by the Sheriff's Office and the HPD to target parents who permit their children to be truant from elementary schools. State's Attorneys come to the HPD to counsel negligent parents face-to-face. Life-Skill Instruction: Elementary school SROs instruct students on a variety of skills such as table manners, "stranger danger," and conflict resolution. 00Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.): Elementary school SROs teach this 17-week program to fifth grade students. Harley Davidson leases a customized motorcycle to the HPD for one dollar per month to bring positive attention to the D.A.R.E. program. Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.): SROs teach this program to all middle school seventh graders. The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms provides free training to officers. Gun Safety: Elementary school SROs make presentations to parents and children. Parents receive information about responsible gun ownership and students learn what to do if they come across a gun. Traffic Control: The new COPS-funded SROs initiated a traffic enforcement program at the elementary schools. Teachers and crossing guards are trained to observe and report violations to the SROs, and the HPD sends warning letters to violators. SROs are radar-certified officers and run radar at schools during arrival and dismissal. This is especially important at high schools. COPS In Schools (CIS) CIS grants enable law enforcement agencies hire law enforcement professionals to work in and around primary and secondary schools. CIS has helped to hire and train nearly 6,000 School Resource Officers (SROs) since 1999. COPS has allocated a total of $672 million to help hire SROs and an additional $21 million to train SROs and the school administrators with whom they work. Promising Strategies From The Field Hollywood SROs also conduct annual evaluations of school campuses using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design guidelines. COPS-funded training prepares all SROs to conduct such evaluations and then make recommendations for improving safety and security to school principals based on the findings of those evaluations. Efforts to inform the community about the new initiatives and the SROs have been extensive and have included presentations to PTAs, school employees, community organizations, local businesses, the school board, and numerous special-interest groups. The message has also been delivered on bumper stickers, posters, billboards, brochures, television and radio spots, ads on busses and benches, promotional videos, baseball cards featuring SROs, three racecars sponsored by the Youth Services Section, websites with links to various resources, a police mini go-cart, puppet shows, and appearances by McGruff the Crime Dog and Daren the D.A.R.E. mascot. While the successes of this multidimensional program are not currently supported by any statistical data, SROs and HPD management provided many examples. Officers report that contacts with Hollywood youth are more positive than contacts with youth from other jurisdictions. The department reports that having resource officers in the schools has had an impact on reported crime. SROs can often handle situations that might otherwise require a call for service. Generally, the police report that Hollywood schools and surrounding communities are more at ease since the SRO staffing increase. An increase in positive feedback and a decrease in complaints from the community indicate that Hollywood's improved school security and the big media push to educate local citizens has paid off. Lansing Deploys Crime Analysis and Mapping Tools Image of police officers looking at their laptop computer The Lansing, Michigan Police Department (LPD) wanted to implement crime mapping but did not have the needed resources or technical capacity. COPS MORE funding helped the Department overcome these hurdles to create LPD Crime, a crime analysis and mapping application for police personnel. Before LPD Crime, Lansing officers could not obtain for themselves or readily provide the community with crime and disorder information broken down by geographic area. LPD Crime gives officers at all ranks access to a customized, user-friendly tool to identify and analyze problems, develop appropriate responses, and assess their efforts. The application incorporates information about crimes, arrests, calls for service, parolees, gang members, traffic accidents, field contacts, and vehicle recoveries. It also allows officers to map team (or beat) boundaries, neighborhood watch areas, and census data. Promising Strategies From The Field 16 Citizen and Officer Involvement in Planning The LPD assessed users' needs during the planning phase for LPD Crime and identified vendors that could fulfill those needs with a user-friendly crime mapping application. The department also consulted with the National Institute of Justice's Crime Mapping Research Center (now known as Mapping and Analysis for Public Safety) to obtain information on lessons learned from research and other departments' efforts. Department personnel representing different assignments and ranks provided valuable ideas about the analysis and mapping functions that they believed would be most helpful, as well as suggestions for making the package easy to use. In addition, representatives from neighborhood organizations provided information on the types of crimes of greatest concern to them. Maps and reports were built into the program to meet residents' needs and help officers focus on those crimes. Because very few off- the-shelf applications were available, the department decided to work closely with a vendor to develop a customized product. Making Officer Redeployment Effective (MORE) MORE grants cover up to 75 percent of the cost of technology acquisition, equipment purchases, or support personnel salaries. MORE grants are designed to give law enforcement professionals tools that allow them to spend more time on community policing activities. COPS MORE grants have provided more than 4,500 law enforcement agencies in excess of one billion dollars to redeploy police officers into community policing activities since 1995. Image of a crime map installed on laptops in the patrol cars of the Lansing, Michigan Police Department Results LPD Crime was installed on computers throughout the department's three stations and made available to everyone from patrol officers to the chief. The LPD then used Local Law Enforcement Block Grant funds to contract for a customized training curriculum. The curriculum showed how LPD Crime could be integrated into the department's practice of community policing and problem-solving. Every sworn department member was provided this four-hour training block, as well as four additional hours of training on mapping and problem-solving. The department's crime analysts also use the underlying geographic information system (GIS) software to perform more complex analyses and create custom maps that are not readily available in LPD Crime. The lieutenant who managed this project notes that community policing has advanced in Lansing because the problem-solvers (officers) are now able to obtain accurate, timely crime-related information. Creating LPD Crime was the initial step in a related project in which LPD made crime mapping available to the public through a countywide website (www.intouchlansing.com). Residents can now view neighborhood crime maps as well as related health and community service information from their homes or offices. Illinois Launches Online Problem-Solving Tool Image of patrol car parked outside of a house The Regional Institute for Community Policing (RICP) at the University of Illinois is one COPS' national network of Regional Community Policing Institutes (RCPIs). The RICP launched the Innovative Methods for Achieving Global Impact in Neighborhood environments, an online databank better known as IMAGINE, in January 2000. IMAGINE was established in response to a need identified by police departments and communities throughout Illinois for a way to more easily share information about problem-solving projects and ideas. IMAGINE has grown through the joint efforts of RICP staff, partner organizations, and law enforcement agencies throughout Illinois. The databank now contains more that 50 problem-solving projects and is accessible through the Database Center link on the RICP website, located at www.ricp.uis.edu. IMAGINE is organized around the Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment (SARA) problem- solving model and includes search, project entry, and project update capabilities. RICP staff provide training on IMAGINE, actively promote its use, and continue to explore ways to expand its capabilities. Promising Strategies From The Field 20 Testing and Improving IMAGINE withHelp from Local Police RICP personnel developed and refined the IMAGINE database with help from local police agencies. This collaboration with practitioners was an integral part of the process of making IMAGINE an effective, useful tool. Six Illinois police departments participated in a six-month pilot phase (Crystal Lake, Naperville, Orland Park, Springfield, University of Illinois at Champaign, and Wood Dale). Each agency agreed to send three to five officers to a four- hour training session and to enter a minimum of five projects into the databank. At the end of the pilot phase, the agencies attended a debriefing to identify IMAGINE's strengths and limitations. Officers requested the SARA format and the ability to easily update information on their projects. In order to protect the officers involved, IMAGINE does not publish their contact information. The RICP serves as the first point of contact for database users who want more information about a project. Regional Community Policing Institutes (RCPI) COPS funds a national network of Regional Community Policing Institutes that provide innovative community policing training and technical assistance to law enforcement, local government, and the communities they serve. COPS has awarded more than $93 million to educate, train, and assist law enforcement and community members on community policing through this network. RCPIs have trained in excess of 216,000 officers and citizens to date. Using the IMAGINE Databank Anyone with Internet access can use IMAGINE. It offers drop-down menus that help search for relevant projects. Users can search not only by type of problem, but also by the type of scanning, analysis, response, and assessment methods used. To submit a project, the user simply completes an online form. RICP staff then reviews each project to ensure content quality before posting it to the online database. Training for IMAGINE users includes a demonstration of the RICP website, an overview of SARA-based problem-solving techniques, an introduction to community policing concepts, and hands-on practice with IMAGINE's search, entry, and update features. Participants are Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview encouraged to enter an actual project at the training sessions. The RICP offers this training throughout the state, but training is not required to access IMAGINE. RICP Partners The RICP is a partnership with the University of Illinois (Institute of Government and Public Affairs), Illinois State Police, Illinois Center for Violence Prevention, and Illinois Violence Prevention Authority (IVPA). A national advisory board of leading experts and educators, as well as associate partners consisting of other statewide police agencies and community groups, has also joined the partnership. The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board has helped coordinate training sessions for IMAGINE, and community colleges throughout the state often provide classroom space in their computer labs. To increase the number of projects entered, the RICP has called upon its partnership with the IVPA. The IVPA and RICP currently sponsor community policing mini grants for law enforcement agencies that partner with community agencies and groups. One of the requirements is that grantees enter their projects into the IMAGINE databank. Results IMAGINE allows law enforcement and government agencies across Illinois to share information about local approaches to a variety of problems. As more police departments become comfortable using the Internet, the RICP is considering ways to allow IMAGINE users to contact agencies directly about their projects. RICP staff are also working to link IMAGINE to other databases and RCPIs, and to develop a web-based discussion board. This online tool provides a statewide community policing resource for local and state officers, government organizations, community members, and other affiliated partners. IMAGINE's searchable database can often reduce problem- solving to a single click of the mouse. IMAGINE contains information on the scanning, analysis, response, and assessment of each problem so others can learn from the problem-solving approach taken and replicate it. Survey evaluation results to date show an overwhelmingly positive response from users, and the fact that the number of projects in IMAGINE continues to increase is testament to the value of this new statewide community policing resource tool. Indianapolis PALs Around with Youth Image of police officers watching a youth basketball game Indiana's Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) and Police Athletic League (PAL) have reorganized their approach to providing youth services and addressing youth-related crime, and COPS supports this effort through its Justice Based After-School (JBAS) program. They used the JBAS grant to decentralize the PAL program to four of the five IPD districts and reach more youth throughout the city. Two local non- profit organizations partnered with the IPD to establish PAL programming in four community centers and help those centers expand their services. Four additional centers were so inspired by this example that they made similar improvements on their own. Project Partners Promising Strategies From The Field IPD had a centralized Police Athletic League (PAL) program before the JBAS grant, but its outreach was limited. In order to expand the program's service area, the IPD partnered with two Boys & Girls Club locations and two of 14 centers operated by Community Centers of Indianapolis, Inc. Each of the four centers had existing after-school programs, but JBAS funding allowed them to enhance their programs, extend their hours, and purchase items like new sports equipment and computers. The police department placed a PAL officer in each of the four centers. The PAL officers work directly with the center directors to customize and implement programs. The Indianapolis Children's Museum also shares its facility with PAL youth for special events, cultural activities, or just as a safe place to go as an alternative to the streets. When the museum cannot completely waive the admission fee, JBAS funding defrays the cost. The JBAS grant has also supported a variety of training. All PAL officers, designated district officers, and staff from partnering agencies were required to attend COPS- funded youth relationship training conducted by the Marion County Commission on Youth. Justice Based After-School Program (JBAS) COPS JBAS program is designed to develop a preventive approach to juvenile crime and victimization that improves the overall quality of life in grantee communities. COPS provided funding to law enforcement agencies in six pilot cities that work in partnership with community-based organizations. COPS has awarded $2.7 million through JBAS to law enforcement to implement programs focused on juvenile crime and victimization in high-crime neighborhoods since 2000. Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview Results PAL programs provide safe alternatives to criminal activity, teach life- skills, and help youth build positive self-esteem. The PAL program also seeks to change negative public perceptions of police and allow residents to see police officers in new roles as coaches and mentors. Activities such as tutoring programs, book drives, and sports teams have sprung up throughout the districts. One exemplary program is the PAL Power Hour, an after-school tutoring and mentoring program initiated by an officer working in the Lilly Boys and Girls Club. Four days a week for one semester, the officer helped a group of 14 young people with homework, social issues, and family problems. The officer also stayed in contact with the students' families and teachers. A recent evaluation of this program showed that all but one students' grade averages rose from Ds to B. Another successful program is Books and Badges, which was adapted from a successful program in Racine, Wisconsin. Community members donate books and officers distribute them to youth. When the IPD first requested books, it received more than 25,000 in the first week alone. The PAL program has also helped the department build relationships within the Hispanic community. With encouragement from a police officer, the PAL baseball league invited children from a local church with a predominantly Hispanic congregation to participate. The response was so positive that four teams were created from that one church, and many parents volunteered to help with the teams. Finally, decentralizing the program provides PAL officers with a base of operations for their projects: officers who identify needs in their own beats or communities can propose a program and seek JBAS funds to help implement it. Two nights a week, for example, two officers work overtime to pick up children from domestic violence and homeless shelters and take them to cultural programs, movies, or sports events. Officers use JBAS funds for this and other projects that improve the quality of life in their communities. Westminster Takes on Domestic Violence Image of police officer talking to a domestic violence victim A COPS Community Policing to Combat Domestic Violence grant enabled California's Westminster Police Department (WPD) to reduce calls for domestic violence, improve investigative techniques, and work more effectively with prosecutors to increase convictions in domestic violence cases. WPD's problem-solving project brought together the Orange County District Attorney's Office and the community-based Women's Transitional Living Center to create a domestic violence team located at the police department. The team provided specialized training to WPD officers, reviewed all domestic violence incident reports, prosecuted each case vertically (a case is prosecuted vertically when the same attorney or group of attorneys handles every aspect of it from start to finish), and provided emergency shelter and other services to victims and their children. Promising Strategies From The Field 28 Team Organization and Approach The first step was to forge a collaborative partnership among the WPD, the Orange County District Attorney's Office, and the Women's Transitional Living Center. The next step was to staff a special multi-agency domestic violence team to implement and manage the project. This team operates out of the police department and includes an experienced WPD investigator and police service officer (PSO), an experienced Deputy District Attorney, and an experienced victim advocate. The team soon developed and started delivering specialized training in domestic violence investigative techniques to WPD officers. This training focused on improving officers' skills in reducing tension at the scene of the incident, increasing responsiveness to victims' needs, providing follow-up legal and referral information, identifying physical injuries to victims, gathering critical criminal evidence, enhancing interviewing techniques, and documenting and preparing cases for prosecution. The philosophy of this joint effort was to supplement the police department's "pro-arrest" policy with "pro-prosecution" strategies. All domestic violence incident reports are submitted to the multi-agency team for review, and all cases are prepared, prosecuted, and monitored by the team through the legal process. The same Deputy District Attorney prosecutes each case vertically, allowing the same experienced attorney to handle all domestic violence arraignments, bail hearings, special hearings, and trials. The Deputy District Attorney also works with judges to obtain special probation conditions and longer sentences for convicted batterers. The victim advocate provides expert advice to the team, makes emergency housing referrals, and provides follow-up counseling and other services to victims and their children. Community Policing to Combat Domestic Violence (DV) COPS DV grants fund collaborative responses to domestic violence, which include identifying community policing/domestic violence test sites, training, and research initiatives. COPS awarded nearly $70 million to more than 400 law enforcement agencies to help fight domestic violence in 1996. Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview Results The WPD's Research and Planning staff conducted an in-house evaluation of the project. Results show that the specialized domestic violence training positively impacts officers' understanding of domestic violence. Follow-up surveys indicate that many officers developed a broader knowledge of the targeted domestic violence areas. The improved investigative techniques lead to a higher quality of police crime reports, which in turn lead to stronger cases and increased convictions. Areas that show increased emphasis in police reports included victims' emotional condition, prior history of the batterer, photographs of injuries, and information on the batterer's behavior toward the children. During the course of the project, the rate of successful domestic violence prosecutions increased by 25 percent and the average length of batterers' sentences increased by nearly 40 percent, much of which is a direct result of vertical prosecution. The WPD continues to examine and improve the effectiveness of the DV team. Improvements include the addition of a probation officer, new DV training for all officers, and enhanced victim services. Program evaluation plans are in place, and results should be available after completion. The project partners all continue their commitment to work together on domestic violence cases today, even though COPS funding for the project ended in 1998. The project was institutionalized by a reallocation of existing resources, use of batterers' fine monies, and some foundation funding. Houston Dials 311 Image of employees working for the 311 non-emergency telephone system in Houston The city of Houston, Texas experienced an increasing number of non- emergency calls to the 911 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and police dispatch during the late 1990s. The explanation for this increase appeared to be the lack of a convenient way for citizens to obtain non- emergency city services. Local phone directories listed more than 700 numbers for Houston city services and offices. In addition, mechanisms to track citizen requests and follow-up were not universal or consistent. City management and the Houston Police Department wanted to provide an easier way for citizens to contact the city and allow police officers, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel to concentrate on actual emergencies. A COPS grant allowed Houston to create a 311 non-emergency telephone system that would centralize the city's call intake system and reduce the volume of non-emergency calls to 911. Promising Strategies From The Field 32 Analysis and Planning The analysis phase of this project involved examining the many citizen contact points for city services, as well as the number of non- emergency calls that did not result in a police report or officer dispatch. The analysts concluded that an accessible consolidated call center would greatly benefit the city. The city assembled a team of employees representing the various city departments. This project team then worked with consultants to design and implement the new 311 system and consolidated call center. Implementing the Plan The city used a number of strategies during the project's implementation process to increase the chances of its success. The project team hired a consultant, for example, to oversee systems integration for 19 different departments. The team also created and implemented a comprehensive marketing campaign to educate the public about 311 and The project team developed an internal recruitment strategy to staff the new call center and designed a training program specifically for the new 311 program staff. This included a five-week certified course on how to handle requests for non-emergency city services, as well as modules for educating 311 staff on 911 police, fire, and EMS procedures. By using staff from existing call centers, the new 311 center did not create additional personnel costs for the city that might have been difficult to sustain. when they should use it. 311 for Non-Emergencies COPS responded to the growing public dependence on 911 for non-emergency calls with a request that the Federal Communications Commission reserve 311 as a national, voluntary, non-toll, three-digit phone number for non- emergencies. COPS awarded approximately five million dollars to 10 jurisdictions to develop 311 non-emergency systems beginning in 1996. Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview Reviewing Results Houston officially launched the consolidated call center on August 27, 2001. Within one year, non-emergency calls to 911 dropped by almost 15 percent from 585,449 to 499,858 calls. Prior to the establishment of a 311 system, the number of non- emergency calls being handled by 911 was increasing annually. In FY1998, non-emergency calls accounted for 24.1percent of all incoming 911 calls, increasing to 33.2 percent by FY2001. In FY2002, Houston began to see this figure decrease, as non-emergencies now accounted for only 29 percent of all 911 calls. Between August 27, 2001 and June 30, 2002, the 3-1-1 Houston Service Helpline received 1,578,584 calls. In addition to law enforcement non- emergencies, Houston had set up their 311 system to include other city services. As a result, Houston's 311 system was handling many more calls than would have originally been received by 911. The 311-call volume reflected Houston's successful public awareness program on the use of 311, as well as the fact that the Helpline was taking calls for general city services. Houston's 311 system provides the citizens of Houston with an effective, single access point to general city services. To measure how the new non-emergency call center has improved services to the community, the city plans to administer citizen satisfaction surveys. Completed calls will be selected at random, and callers will be asked to answer a few questions about their experience with the system. Some citizens will also be selected to receive follow-up surveys by mail. Salt Lake City Unites to Fight Meth Image of products used to make Methamphetamines Community action teams in Salt Lake City, Utah conducted a needs assessment in 1998 that showed that methamphetamine had dramatically impacted the area over the previous eight years. This included a dramatic rise in clandestine lab seizures, as well as increases in meth-related arrests and in requests for treatment for meth addiction. The Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) took a comprehensive approach to addressing these problems upon receiving one of COPS' six initial Methamphetamine Initiative grants. This effort has been so successful that five years later, long after COPS funding ran out, the original partners continue to make the initiative successful. Promising Strategies From The Field 36 Interventions The Salt Lake City Methamphetamine Initiative included enforcement, prosecution, child endangerment, and community education components. More than 30 partners worked together, including representatives from local and federal law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, social services, prosecutors, medical professionals, treatment specialists, local schools, and other organizations. The SLCPD addressed enforcement by refining its investigative techniques to help identify and respond to changes in the methamphetamine market. Narcotics officers conducted "knock-and-talks," visiting residences about which the SLCPD had received complaints via its drug hotline. The SLCPD also created an Intelligence Unit, which proved to be a valuable resource not only to the Initiative, but to the department as a whole. An intelligence analyst assists in investigations, prepares link charts, and conducts other research. The analyst also takes drug hotline calls and follows up on leads before forwarding the information to detectives. Other interventions include tracking the regulated sale of crystallized iodine, seeking enhanced penalties for methamphetamine manufacturing cases, and passing a county regulation mandating the appropriate clean- up of chemically contaminated properties. The Initiative also created a Drug Endangered Children (DEC) program to encourage a multi-agency response and provide comprehensive services to children found at clandestine lab scenes. COPS Methamphetamine Initiative (COPS METH) COPS Meth grants help combat the production, distribution, and use of methamphetamine. Grantees implement innovative programs based on the principles of community policing that include enforcement, intervention, and prevention efforts. COPS has awarded more than $223 million in METH grants to help more than 120 communities since 1998. Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview The SLCPD Methamphetamine Initiative also focused heavily on training. The Narcotics Unit that handled clandestine lab scenes received significant training and became a certified clandestine lab team, which doubled the city's resources for responding to labs. Cross- training for law enforcement personnel and other partners gave participants multi-agency, multidisciplinary perspectives on the problem. The SLCPD then made a concerted effort to involve the community by increasing publicity about its drug hotline and by developing over 15 separate presentations, which it adapts to meet the needs of various community groups. Results The SLCPD Methamphetamine Initiative achieved significant, positive results from its intervention, prevention, and community involvement efforts. In 2002, SLCPD reported a decline in the number of clandestine methamphetamine labs seized and a 150 percent increase in calls to the drug hotline. More community members also got involved in anti- methamphetamine activities. For example, some local drug stores limited the availability of precursor chemicals and began reporting suspicious activity to authorities. Salt Lake City's efforts have helped decrease meth hotline response time by 400 percent. The SLCPD also saw a decrease in the number of children found at drug crime scenes, an increase in child protective services worker responses to drug crime scenes, a decrease in children removed to protective custody, and an increase in the number of women in their childbearing years who sought treatment and received services for methamphetamine addiction. Salt Lake City's DEC was so successful that COPS now funds DEC programs in other cities around the country. The SLCPD, City Council, Mayor's Office, and the 30 partnering agencies all agreed to continue supporting the Methamphetamine Initiative in Salt Lake City after COPS funding ended. The city fully funds the SLCPD portion of the Initiative through its general fund, and all partner agencies agreed to stay involved. Buffalo Reduces Street Prostitution Image of laptop in a patrol car COPS awarded a Problem-Solving Partnership (PSP) grant to New York’s Buffalo Police Department to reduce the high incidence of street prostitution in Buffalo. Buffalo experienced nearly 1,000 calls for service and numerous arrests for prostitution during 1996. The police department was also aware of long-standing complaints from community groups that the prostitution problem created traffic congestion, noise, litter, harassment of residents, and declining property values. Residents felt threatened by "johns" who propositioned women living in the area and often observed sexual transactions performed in parked cars, empty lots, and alleys. Businesses experienced declining sales and an increasing number of drug dealers attracted to the area to supply the prostitutes. Promising Strategies From The Field 40 Analyzing the Problem The PSP grant supported a detailed study of offender motivations and the characteristics of certain locations that made them vulnerable to prostitution. A Prostitution Task Force interviewed or surveyed 15 prostitutes, 127 johns, 116 residents, and numerous police officers and businesses. The task force learned two key facts from the data from prostitutes and johns: (1) the possibility of arrest was the major deterrent to solicitation for johns and (2) arrest was not much of a deterrent for prostitutes themselves. Many of the prostitutes expressed relief upon arrest and a jail term of a few days, because it gave them a chance to rest and stay off drugs. All 15 prostitutes reported being addicted to drugs, primarily cocaine or heroin. Although these findings were not surprising, they were critical to garnering community support for the task force interventions. University of Buffalo researchers working with the police department also surveyed residents who were concerned about prostitution and informed them of the findings from the interviews with prostitutes and johns. Based on that information, Buffalo community members expressed support for increased enforcement against johns, as well as increased drug treatment and sentencing options for prostitutes. Police Response From 1996 to 1997, Buffalo police increased the number of johns arrested by 85 percent, but only increased the number of prostitutes arrested by 28 percent. Known as Operation Johnny, the john enforcement effort was implemented citywide to avoid displacement of prostitutes from the Allentown area to other parts of the city. Problem-Solving Partnerships (PSP) PSP grants promote partnerships between law enforcement and other community-based groups to respond to a persistent local crime and disorder problem. PSP grants employ problem-solving approaches using the SARA model, and have responded to auto theft, prostitution, vandalism, and other problems. COPS awarded approximately $37 million in grant funds to 454 jurisdictions in 47 states to implement Problem-Solving Partnership projects in 1996. Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview The Prostitution Task Force analyzed 911 calls, arrest data, and interviews with community members to determine when and where prostitution tended to occur. Maps of repeat arrest locations indicated that 24-hour businesses, particularly those with large parking lots, were conducive to prostitution. Prostitutes said they preferred highly trafficked streets and less busy one-way streets with stop signs or lights. The Task Force then hired a specialist in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) to determine where lighting could be improved, abandoned buildings could be removed, and CCTV cameras could be installed most effectively. Sentencing Alternatives Although chronic offenders (both johns and prostitutes) receive enhanced sentences, the District Attorney's Community Prosecutor developed alternatives to incarceration for first offenders. The courts and the Prostitution Task Force helped the Community Prosecutor establish the John School, which is designed to reduce recidivism among those arrested for solicitation. Offenders pay $100 to attend the eight-hour school, and if they successfully complete the program, the arrest is removed from their records. Speakers include a health professional who discusses sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and AIDS, counselors offering rehabilitative services, citizens who describe the effects of prostitution on their neighborhood, and former prostitutes. Alternative sentencing was also offered to prostitutes arrested for the first time. The Erie County District Attorney and the Buffalo City Court began offering treatment at the Magdalene Center as an option for persons with a chemical dependency who were convicted of prostitution. The Magdalene Program is run by the Beacon Center, an outpatient alcohol and drug treatment program designed specifically for prostitutes. Judges require offenders to attend the program for a minimum of eight weeks and set a return court date for reevaluation. The Task Force also work with the Beacon Center and TRY House, a residential facility for women and girls under age 25 who are involved in or at risk of becoming involved in prostitution. Money from the John School funds a segment of the TRY House program. Promising Strategies From The Field Results The Prostitution Task Force measurably reduced prostitution throughout the city of Buffalo, and contributed to a number of other favorable outcomes. Prostitution 911 calls declined 60 percent from 1996 to 2000. As of 2000, 64 percent of 144 prostitutes who were mandated to attend the Magdalene program graduated, and of those who graduated, 90 percent remained "clean" (free of drugs and not involved in prostitution). Many of graduates received their GEDs, found work outside of prostitution, and regained custody of their children. By 1998, police reported observing fewer prostitutes on the streets, and as a result, arrests of prostitutes declined. Community leaders in hotspot areas also reported a decrease in prostitution activity. Oak Harbor Combats Bullying Image of police officers looking on the computer A COPS School-Based Partnerships grant helped Washington's Oak Harbor Police Department and its community partners form a successful collaborative partnership in 1999. This partnership launched a comprehensive effort to reduce bullying, threats, and intimidation at Oak Harbor High School, which has more than 2,500 students. Bullying and harassment were seen as precursor problems that often escalated into fights or other assaults between students. Identifying harassment between students was seen as a key to preventing even more harmful incidents. Promising Strategies From The Field 44 Analyzing the Problem The Oak Harbor Police Department worked with several key partners in this project, including a community-based group, Citizens Against Domestic and Sexual Abuse (CADA), and the Oak Harbor School District. The partners worked to analyze the problem by collecting data through victim interviews, focus groups with students, interviews with offenders and their parents, and reviews of school records. The analysis indicated that bullying was not clearly captured in school or other official data. Teachers tended to classify a wide range of student behaviors, including bullying and harassment, as disruptive behavior. The analysis also suggested that "picking on" other children often escalated to a clear level of harassment, and that harassment often focused on youth by gender or ethnic group. Mapping the available data revealed that incidents occurred in particular places on school property, including hallways and "smokers' alley." The bullying problem was generally unrecognized as such by victims, offenders, and school personnel. Bullies tended to view harassment as an innocent rite of passage, and targets felt helpless to prevent it. Adults failed bullied children too often by not stepping in to address the problem, much of which can be attributed to lack of awareness. Response The partners determined that awareness of bullying and harassment needed to be increased dramatically throughout the school and among its constituent groups, including students (both offenders and targets), parents, and school personnel; and that reports of incidents should be encouraged and consequences leveled against offenders. The team implemented the following specific responses to bullying and harassment at Oak Harbor High School. School-Based Partnerships (SBP) COPS' SBP grants helped law enforcement agencies partner with a local school or school system and community- based organizations to address a persistent school-related crime on or around school grounds. COPS awarded almost $31 million in School-Based Partnership grants that helped bring community policing to schools in 243 jurisdictions in 1998 and 1999. Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview Offer a new hotline for reporting incidents of harassment Require that all students identified as engaging in harassment participate in a newly developed harassment awareness class Team high school students with middle school students in a mentoring program that uses the supportive resources of Big Brothers and Big Sisters Launch an anti-bullying campaign developed by high school students, including a T-shirt and video project, to raise schoolwide awareness of the problem Increase adult supervision of students in likely bullying locations, such as halls and the lunchroom Offer workshops and training seminars for students, teachers, staff, and police to increase awareness of harassment, including gender-based and ethnic-based harassment Results The harassment intervention program resulted in an initial increase of harassment reports: reports increased 160 percent during the 1999-2000 school year. However, the numbers declined in the following school year. There was also a 65 percent decrease in fights from 1998 to 2000. A survey of students and teachers also suggested a decrease in bullying, with 40 percent of students and 21 percent of faculty members reporting that incidents of bullying had declined. This project was designed to be community-based and inclusive. The police department reached out to other organizations in every phase of the project and worked diligently to build consensus. Promising Strategies From The Field A National Overview Conclusion COPS programs have advanced community policing across the country by putting more than 116,000 officers and deputies on the street, placing innovative crime-fighting technologies in the hands of law enforcement professionals, providing training to law enforcement and community members alike, and spending more than $50 million on law enforcement research since 1994. COPS has also produced a wide variety of publications for training, technical assistance, and research purposes. COPS continues to fund state and local implementation of innovative and effective community policing strategies. COPS looks forward to continuing to work with local law enforcement in 2003 and beyond. Tell Us About It! COPS values feedback from law enforcement practitioners, and we want to hear from you! Please send us an email letting us know about your successful community policing efforts to reduce crime. You can send us an email at TellCOPS@usdoj.gov - we look forward to hearing from you. Image of United States Department of Justice seal FOR MORE INFORMATION U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 1100 Vermont Avenue, N.W. Washington D.C. 20530 To obtain details on COPS programs, call the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 800.421.6770 Visit COPS Online at the address listed below. Created March 13, 2003 e01031849