NCJ Number
189158
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 70 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2001 Pages: 9-17
Date Published
June 2001
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The City Heights Neighborhood Alliance in San Diego, CA, has taken the concept of community policing by promoting a wraparound, problem solving approach in which police and community residents work in a true partnership to solve issues of crime and quality of life.
Abstract
This community has a diverse population of more than 60,000; 30 percent of the population are below poverty standards. Violent crime is more than double the citywide average. Residents identified drug-related crimes and juvenile delinquency as their main concerns. The City Heights Neighborhood Alliance, composed of a team of police officers and civilian community organizers, set out to solve drug-related crimes in partnership with community residents and to provide community residents with the knowledge and skills to solve their own neighborhood quality-of-life problems. Community mobilization techniques included door-to-door outreach, crisis theory, community meetings, and resident training. The program has improved mutual trust between neighbors, trust in police, mobilization, leadership, youth involvement, the involvement of diverse communities, communitywide collaboration, problem solving efforts, community cleanups, the use of residents as community organizers, and arrests and jailing of drug dealers. This nontraditional neighborhood policing strategy promotes resident action. It empowers community residents with the knowledge, tools, and guidance to solve crimes and problems involving quality police. The San Diego Police Department has created an effective and efficient alliance with the community to solve many of the problems that once required law enforcement intervention. Photographs and reference notes