NCJ Number
138654
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 40 Issue: 8 Dated: (August 1992) Pages: 44,50-53
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Three Elgin, Illinois, police officers volunteered to move with their families into troubled neighborhoods in the city to maximize police presence and provide police leadership and expertise in community affairs and development.
Abstract
The officers are given discretion to identify and address problems in the neighborhoods where they reside, reporting to a sergeant, who monitors the program. One area served has a large Hispanic and black population, and drug and gang activity are prevalent. Young middle-class residents have begun moving into the area to rehabilitate some of the 100-year-old homes. Another area served by the Resident Officer Program is the Neighborhood Housing Services district, composed of low-income families in dilapidated housing. Residents are eligible for low-cost housing rehabilitation loans. The third location is a federally subsidized housing project in a poor section of the city. The officers give priority to becoming acquainted with neighbors and identifying their problems and complaints. One officer conducted a questionnaire survey of the neighborhood to find out how residents perceived community problems. There is evidence that residents appreciate knowing and working with the resident officers. They apparently feel there is someone in the neighborhood who cares about their quality of life and has the will and the power to achieve results. Fear and the sense of abandonment and alienation has been relieved. No formal evaluation has been conducted for the program; however, serious crime has decreased in the neighborhoods. Evaluation plans, however, aim to determine if there have also been improvements in those community factors that contribute to crime, such as school dropout rates and employment rates.