NCJ Number
173535
Journal
Alaska Justice Forum Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer 1997 Pages: 1-8
Date Published
1997
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes the development and effectiveness of a community-oriented policing program in a high-crime neighborhood of Anchorage Alaska.
Abstract
The federally funded Community Action Policing Team (CAP) project began in the Mountain View neighborhood in the fall of 1995. The Mountain View neighborhood is poorer than other areas of Anchorage, and is also more racially and ethnically diverse and more linguistically mixed. The project, which received $1.5 million for 3 years, used most of its funding for the 15 officer positions assigned to the CAP project. In addition, the services of the traditional car-based patrol unit continued, as well as services from other police divisions, such as the detective unit and technical services. The staffing level for the project is nearly three times the ordinary level in a much larger service area. The CAP project focused initially on the drug problem, which many officers believed was the basis for the deterioration in community life. The team coordinated surveillance, the use of search warrants, informants, and sting operations in an initial "clean-up" effort; this also involved landlords and municipal code enforcement personnel, as they sought to eliminate the drug operations in various apartment buildings. Various officers focused on eliminating junked vehicles and graffiti as well as jaywalking. After the streets and parks of Mountain View became more orderly, the team turned to more routine law enforcement tasks, such as responding to dispatch calls, conducting bike and foot patrols, and enforcing traffic regulations. The team also began to develop other community-focused programs. After a period of time, the mayor's office, drawing on suggestions from the police, appointed an advisory board with eight members. Several of the board members live in the community and all have strong connections to the neighborhood, whether through schools, churches, or private businesses. Beginning in early 1997, the board began to provide more direction to the police; however, the authority and accountability of the board have never been clearly defined. The progress and effects of the project have been difficult to evaluate quantitatively, primarily because the data are sparse; however, the number of calls involving major violent crimes has declined 16 percent, and calls involving weapons offenses have declined by 34 percent. A small preliminary community resident survey conducted in early 1997 shows that residents were pleased with recent police performance. 3 tables