Community governance: an organized approach to fighting crime.

Since the late 1970s, law enforcement agencies have studied, developed, and practiced community policing strategies. Today, it has become an integral part of all departments and can be found in mission statements, recruitment flyers, training programs, and evaluations. Almost every agency professes practicing it, encouraging officers to engage citizens in solving problems. Several research studies conducted on the effectiveness of community policing have shown that it does help deter crime. But, one question remains, Where does law enforcement go from here?

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Community policing is both a philosophy and an organizational strategy that allows the police and residents to work closely together to address crime, physical and social disorders, and neighborhood decay. In this partnership, each component assumes responsibility for improving the quality of life. (1) If law enforcement does not deal with the little problems, such as an abandoned dwelling where vandals regularly break the windows, then communities will become apathetic to crime and begin to lose pride in their neighborhoods. (2) Soon, the entire area will look like the deserted house with the broken windows. (3) This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on law enforcement to solve community problems. Agencies are beginning to realize that they need more support in their efforts to deter crime, and they have started to look toward others for help.

THE ANAHEIM EXPERIENCE

In the mid-1990s, the city of Anaheim, California, experienced a tremendous problem with gangs, narcotics dealers, and opportunistic criminals preying on a small apartment neighborhood in the city. On a daily basis, someone got shot, stabbed, or robbed. Narcotics sales happened, and new graffiti appeared each day as well. To combat the problem, the Anaheim Police Department assigned six community policing officers and a sergeant to the neighborhood to improve conditions. Using traditional enforcement tactics, the officers arrested 30 to 40 individuals in the neighborhood each month. This strategy continued for a year until the department conceded that enforcement efforts did not have any impact on reducing crime in the neighborhood; these illegal activities remained rampant.

Revising the Strategy

Recognizing that they could not clean up the neighborhood on their own, the police solicited help from other city departments (e.g., community preservation, (4) public works, utilities, and the city attorney's office) and the community to develop a strategy. Working as a team, they established a successful plan, and, within a year, neighborhood crime decreased by almost 80 percent. The majority of the efforts for this reduction did not come from law enforcement but from other city departments and the community. For instance, members from both public works and utilities created "no parking" areas on the streets, repaved roads and alleyways, and increased lighting. In addition, the Community Preservation Department strictly enforced code violations, and the neighborhood began cleanups and celebrations. Taking care of the little things brought pride back to the neighborhood. (5) This feeling became contagious, and everyone wanted to take part in improving the area.

Thinking Long-Range

In May 2000, the Anaheim Police Department established a long-range strategic plan to meet the needs of both the agency and community. One initiative involved the continued development of community policing, which had been principally located in a specialized section with ongoing efforts to introduce the concepts into all segments of the agency. If citizens called the police department about a gang or narcotics problem, they might be transferred to a community policing officer, the gang or narcotics unit, or the patrol bureau--no systematic approach to dealing with problems existed. Multiple sections frequently handled the same problems without ever contacting each other; the lack of communication and coordination of efforts and resources caused a tremendous duplication of work.

The police department recognized that to further its community policing attempts, it needed to develop a coordinated response within the agency and a decentralized service delivery model outside the organization. This would allow the agency to establish unique partnerships with various segments of the community and, as a result, tailor services to meet individual needs. To accomplish this, the department divided the city into four districts: west, central, south, and east. A lieutenant, identified as a district commander (DC), was assigned to a command position in each of the four districts. The DC coordinated all of the agency's efforts in providing service to the four districts while meeting the unique needs of each of the neighborhoods in those areas. Decentralizing the police department helped it provide a responsive and organized approach to the needs of the community while developing better partnerships with other city agencies.

The DC heard the concerns of the community and became known as the person who could solve most problems in the district by using all of the available resources within the police department, other city agencies, and the community. In many ways, the DC became the "chief of police" in each of the districts. Having a central point of contact inside and outside the department helped in its support of streamlining responses to the needs of the community. The DC was identified as the number one client for everyone working at the police department. For example, when the DC requested assistance, it became a high priority. Because of their awareness of all of the problems going on within the district, DCs were responsible for prioritizing law enforcement's response. Each DC also had a sergeant and five community policing officers assigned to them to help coordinate problem-solving efforts in their districts.

Realizing Value

Within the first year, the police department began to recognize the value of the community governance program because of the overwhelming positive response from citizens. Residents had someone to call (the DC) who instantly responded to their concerns. In addition, the DC often was in the community, attending meetings and functions and listening to citizens' concerns. As a result of that involvement, residents felt they had someone they could talk to who would assist them and take action to resolve issues in their neighborhoods. Further, the city manager's and mayor's offices received fewer citizen complaints regarding law enforcement's lack of response to community problems.

Expanding the Success

The city manager's office examined the success of the district policing plan and decided that all city departments should develop the model. Each agency identified its own DC and created a team in all four districts of the city. The formation of the teams had several guiding principles.

* Use the expertise of all city departments in a coordinated effort to improve the livability of Anaheim's neighborhoods.

* Assist severely deteriorated neighborhoods, as well as those beginning to show signs of decline, by developing a strategic plan to improve the quality of life in these areas.

* Ensure active participation by all neighborhood stakeholders, including single-family home residents, property and apartment owners, tenants, school and church officials, business owners, and city staff.

* Work with neighborhood stakeholders to create a vision of what the neighborhood can achieve in becoming a quality place to live.

Today, on a monthly basis, district teams meet to discuss ongoing problems in their districts. Collectively, they provide input on how their individual city departments can help handle a particular issue. This type of involvement has resolved small problems in the districts, preventing them from becoming larger ones. Further, each city department contributes to finding a solution and, at the monthly meetings, provides an update on its progress in fulfilling the objectives of the strategic plans developed for improving the quality of life in the deteriorated neighborhoods within its district. This encourages the department to move forward in accomplishing its goals. In addition, at every monthly meeting, each city department has the opportunity to provide input as to how new developments in the city will impact its particular district. This has proven extremely helpful in ensuring that the city has carefully deliberated on and planned for future growth, encouraging input from all agencies and the community in the final decision.

Staying Up-To-Date

The Anaheim Police Department also has taken a number of steps to ensure that the district teams remain responsive to the community. On a quarterly basis, all DCs meet with the stakeholders in their districts to provide updates and obtain feedback from the community and to send quarterly newsletters with this information. Additionally, an annual survey is conducted with residents in various neighborhoods throughout each of the districts to determine if the district team's efforts are effectively improving the quality of life in their neighborhoods. Because members of the community now have personal relationships with individuals from each city agency, the city of Anaheim no longer is a faceless government to its citizens.

CONCLUSION

Many jurisdictions have similar success stories where the police have worked closely with other city departments and the community to improve the quality of life. However, typically, these groups only come together when a major problem or crisis occurs. They usually do not work together on a regular basis to deal with small issues. This overall lack of coordination, planning, and consensus among all city departments and the community produces duplication of effort and an individual pursuit of each group's own objectives. There also is a tendency to pass a problem on to another city agency. For example, many people believe that it is the responsibility of the police to fight crime. How many would say it is everyone's obligation? Mutual responsibility coupled with interdepartmental and community engagement forms the basis of community governance--bringing city and county agencies, schools, religious and nonprofit organizations, businesses, and residential communities together to openly communicate on how to improve the quality of life. This requires all stakeholders to meet on a regular basis to discuss current, ongoing problems in the neighborhood, develop strategic plans to repair deteriorated neighborhoods, and establish goals for their future.

Community governance breaks down organizational and communal barriers by enlisting everyone to work as a team in solving problems. Some cities and counties have found that this organized approach has done more to fight crime than the traditional community policing strategy. Community governance is not a new concept to the law enforcement profession. This strategy takes the existing community policing practices and brings them together in an organized and focused approach. The Anaheim, California, experience has shown that when all city departments, as well as the community, understand that their roles are as important as the police department's in fighting crime, real progress will occur in improving the quality of life in neighborhoods. Community governance means it is everyone's responsibility to fight crime and improve the quality of life.

Endnotes

(1) Robert Trojanowicz and Bonnie Bucqueroux, Community Policing: A Contemporary Perspective (Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Company, 1990), 8. For additional information, see Clyde L. Cronkhite, "Fostering Community Partnerships That Prevent Crime and Promote Quality of Life," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, May 2005, 7-10.

(2) James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, "Broken Windows," The Atlantic Monthly, March 1982. For additional information, see Frank Perry, "Repairing Broken Windows: Preventing Corruption Within Our Ranks," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, February 2001, 23-26

(3) Ibid., 23.

(4) Anaheim's Community Preservation Division "promotes and maintains standards to preserve and enhance the quality of life and public safety for all who work, live, and play in the city of Anaheim. This is achieved through community involvement, education, and regulation, which enhance local neighborhoods." The division includes such programs as code enforcement, graffiti removal, volunteers, and security lighting. For more information, see http://www.anaheim.net/section.asp?id=140.

(5) Supra note 2.

RELATED ARTICLE: Anaheim's Guiding Principles

* Use the expertise of all city departments.

* Assist neighborhoods by developing a strategic plan.

* Ensure active participation by all stakeholders.

* Work with neighborhood stakeholders to create a vision.

By Joe Reiss, M.S.

Captain Reiss serves in the Special Operations Division of the Anaheim, California, Police Department.