NCJ Number
212519
Editor(s)
Sharon Samber
Date Published
2005
Length
48 pages
Annotation
This publication reports on activities in "Weed-and-Seed" sites in the areas of law enforcement, community policing, crime prevention, neighborhood restoration, reentry, and American Indian/Alaska Native affairs.
Abstract
Each section of the publication highlights effective strategies, important events, strong community leaders, and grassroots efforts to improve neighborhoods. In the area of law enforcement, the projects mentioned include a community-based response to gun crimes in Salisbury, MD, and a program to improve safety in public housing in Kansas City, MO. Descriptions of community policing projects include a partnership among law enforcement, community, and city government in Washington, DC, to fight gang violence and the efforts of a Weed-and-Seed site in Los Angeles to counter hate-motivated crime and graffiti. Examples of crime prevention programs include a safe location for school students while they wait to be picked up by the school bus in Portsmouth, VA, a neighborhood health fair for low- and moderate-income families in Santa Ana, CA, a Junior Police Academy for kids in Springfield, IL, and a Teen Summer Fair that promotes positive educational activities for youth in Niagara Falls, NY. Projects in neighborhood restoration include youth involvement in home restorations in Bristol, TN, a community event to promote violence prevention in a North Omaha (Nebraska) neighborhood, and a plan by the Federal Community Capacity Development Office to bring neighborhood tax services to low- and moderate-income communities. Reentry programs include an AmeriCorps VISTA program that provides services to persons re-entering the community from prison and the creation of a center that provides services to released inmates in Providence, RI. Programs among American Indian/Alaska Native communities involve assistance for ex-offenders returning to their homes and a CIRCLE Project that facilitates interagency cooperation in bringing criminal justice services to Indian country. A listing of annotated resources