NCJ Number
216778
Journal
The Police Chief: The Professional Voice of Law Enforcement Volume: 73 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2006 Pages: 71-73,75-76,78,79
Date Published
December 2006
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article describes the development of the Zone 2 Strategic Revitalization Plan, developed through the leadership of the Titusville (Florida) Police Department to reduce crime and nuisance in the Zone 2 high crime neighborhood.
Abstract
Past efforts of the Titusville Police Department had failed to make long-term reductions in crime and quality of life problems in a high crime area of Titusville, FL known to the police department as Zone 2. In 2000, the department began development of the Zone 2 Revitalization Plan to reduce crime and public nuisance problems in the neighborhood. The planning process involved the recruitment of numerous partners that included city officials as well as community advocates, homeowners, and apartment managers. An apartment managers association and an apartment complex task force were created to deal with code violations and to maintain close contact with police. The police changed their patrol strategy from random patrol to targeted patrol and provided overtime bicycle patrols to keep an eye on crime hot spots. The revitalization plan also included partner-sponsored community dinners, community gym renovations, and the creation of an after-school youth enrichment center. The article recounts how partners to the revitalization plan were recruited and how calls to police from Zone 2 were carefully analyzed to provide the data necessary to target specific problems. The assistance of the Apartment Managers Association is highlighted as particularly important in identifying problem tenants and consistent nuisances in the area. Specific successes of the revitalization plan are described, most of which would not have been possible without the active participation of community partners. The article includes a textbox that offers a case study of code enforcement by police officers, which involved a partnership between the police department and city code office. The partnership, which focused on cross-training police and code enforcement officers, resulted in the newly created Titusville Police Department Code Enforcement Partnership.