NCJ Number
160963
Date Published
1994
Length
17 pages
Annotation
A projected initiated in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. in 1990 focused on drug prevention through three types of community building: improved communications, community education, and information development.
Abstract
The project goals were to reduce the demand for illegal drugs, reduce crime and disorder associated with drug abuse, and include community building in all solutions. An integral component of the project was the formation of the Citizens Orientation Program (COP), designed to train citizens to identify and report drug-related offenses to the police and to establish a telephone call-in line within the organized crime division of the city police department. Project activities included providing written and commercial media presentations, as well as police presentations to tenants' organizations, homeowners' associations, and other concerned individuals. Other accomplishments included drug-free events for youth and adults, the establishment of neighborhood watch groups, household security surveys, and enforcement of nuisance abatement codes. The program appears to have improved the quantity and quality of police interactions with other agencies regarding crime prevention and to have assisted residents of targeted neighborhoods in organizing themselves for crime prevention. However, the overall crime rate has remained relatively stable, and it appears that programs targeted to small areas may simply displace crime to surrounding areas.