Safety

Introduction

Creating safety in homes on blocks and in businesses by building community.

Overview

This section includes ideas and contacts for City & county crime prevention departments , Networks for sharing crime prevention ideas , Neighborhood Safety Projects , Block/ Apartment Club Organizing , National Night Out , Citizen Safety Patrols , Community Standards/ Problem Properties , Community Awareness & Education Campaigns , Conflict & Dispute Resolution , Pedestrian Safety Campaigns , Crime Prevention through Environmental Design , Rental Property Onwers Groups , Weed and Seed , Restorative Justice Resources and Projects , Legal Resources/ Support for Ex Offenders and Non-profits Working on Safety Issues

Page Index

  • Key Issues
  • Common Problems and Solutions
  • Successful Strategies
  • Annotated Web Resources
  • Topic Library
  • Sub-Topics and Vendors


    • Key Issues Related to this Topic

  • Safety is the foundation of resident involvement. Cycles of crime, fear and isolation can keep neighbors locked up in their homes and apartments. However, crime problems can also motivate neighbors to bond together and get involved. Once residents, working with the police, have cleaned up the major crime issues in their neighborhood it is important to find new issues and opportunities that can sustain volunteer interest.

  • Building a strong partnership with your local police takes time & constant communication. Volunteers and staff at every level of your organization, from block club members and captains to board members, can all help with building a strong and constant flow of information back and forth from your neighborhood to your police precinct.

  • Strong block clubs are the key to making a neighborhood safe. Studies show that blocks with strong block clubs have lower rates of crime, even in the lowest income neighborhoods. By watching out for one another and taking pride in their homes and yards, members of block clubs send out a clear message that “crime is not welcome here.”

  • Block clubs can build participation by focusing on positive activities. While block clubs often get active to address serious crime problems, the long term involvement of neighbors can best be sustained through working on positive activities such as block parties, community gardens, boulevard planting, paint and fix up projects and barter exchange networks. Many neighborhoods and the Minneapolis Police Department offer mini-grants to block clubs to provide the funds needed for these block improvement projects.

  • Block leaders need ongoing training and support. Block leaders can do much to spark the involvement of their neighbors, but need ongoing support to keep up their efforts. Neighborhoods use many different methods to support their block club leaders including block captain newsletters, training evenings, mini grants and recognition events.

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    Common Problems and Solutions

  • Isolation, fear and distrust among neighbors. On many low-income or high-crime blocks residents stay isolated because of fear. Working with police to solve basic safety issues and organizing fun events to bring neighbors together are two first steps to building community on blocks with high levels of fear.

  • Unorganized blocks. Often neighborhood associations find it difficult to organize block clubs on lower income blocks and blocks with high number of rental units or commercial properties. When careful attention is paid to cultivating one or two new volunteers who live on an unorganized block, these residents can then work along side other neighborhood volunteers and city crime prevention staff to canvass their block and start a block club.

  • Lack of Trust in the Police- Because of many past experiences of unfair treatment from members of local police departments, some low income residents, youth and members of communities of color are not eager to call the police to help solve a problem. When neighborhood associations build stronger connections of accountability with their local police precinct, many solutions can be found to strengthen connections between residents and the police.

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    Successful Strategies

  • Use every method possible to increase the “eyes on the street.” Many break-ins happen during the day when many residents are away at work. Citizen safety patrols, bike patrols, getting seniors involved with your block club, supporting home-based businesses and community gardens are all ways to increase the number of “eyes on the street.”

  • A monthly “huddle” can speed the resolution of problem properties. Many neighborhoods organize a monthly “huddle” of block leaders, neighborhood staff, local police and staff from the inspections department and city council to identify, track, find solutions for and resolve the problem properties in their neighborhood. These work teams can often put pressure on problem landlords to sell their properties to more responsible owners and use housing codes, police surveillance and citizen pressure to clean up properties with drug dealing and frequent police calls.

  • Creating “defensible space” helps neighbors feel safer. Building, landscaping and streetscape design can add to creating “defensible space,” smaller private areas in your neighborhood that encourage residents to feel ownership of an area, develop stronger relationships and prevent crime. Resource: "Defensible Space" by Oscar Newman. (1972). New York, NY: The Macmillan Co.

  • Restorative justice circles can turn problems into opportunities. Restorative justice efforts in neighborhoods seek to restore the connections that have been broken between neighbors and those who have committed crimes in their neighborhood. Most restorative justice programs are voluntary, requiring the consent of the victim and/or offender to proceed. Most programsoffer opportunities for the victim and offender to both speak and be heard by one another. Some programs also involve the families of the victim and offender in the process. Some programs focus more on street crimes, others on issues of youth vandalism and or truancy, and others on family issues and child protection issues.

  • Managing traffic flow through your neighborhood can also reduce crime. Drug dealing in neighborhoods often happens along high traffic streets that have easy access to freeway entrances. By reducing the volume of traffic on high crime streets through traffic calming methods, neighborhoods can also reduce the amount of drug sales.

  • Share your crime prevention ideas with other neighborhoods. City police community liaison departments can help neighborhoods get in touch with each other to share ideas and successful strategies.

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    Annotated WebLinks

  • Restorative Justice
    Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking   03/31/03
    The Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking acts as a resource center of video and print materials relating to restorative justice and victim offender mediation.

  • City Crime Prevention Staff- Minneapolis
    City of Minneapolis Community Crime Prevention / SAFE   03/31/03
    Block club leader training resources, crime prevention ideas, block club incentives grants, national night out organizing information.

  • City Crime Prevention contacts- St. Paul
    City of St. Paul Police Department, FORCE Unit   03/31/03
    Block club and crime prevention resources in St. Paul.

  • National NNO clearing house website
    National Night Out Against Crime   03/31/03
    National NNO clearing hosue web site

  • Neighborhood Crime Prevention Network.
    Phillips Neighborhood Network (PNN)   09/23/01
    An on-line crime prevention network for Phillips residents, business owners and property owners.

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    Library

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    Vendors by Sub-Topic

    Block / Apartment Club Organizing  
        Community Crime Prevention / SAFE
        Community Leader Development Program- Family & Children's Service
        Community Watch- Associated Block Clubs
        Minneapolis Highrise Resident Council
        Minneapolis Training Program for Neighborhood Organizers
        National Association of Town Watch
        Neighbor to Neighbor
        St. Paul Police Department, FORCE Unit (Focusing Our Resources on Community


    Citizen Patrols  
        Hawthorne Ministerial Alliance
        Lyndale Neighborhood Association


    City/ county/ state/ federal crime prevention resources  
        City of Minneapolis Civilian Police Review Authority
        City of Minneapolis Police Department
        City of Minneapolis Police Department
        City of Minneapolis, Office of City Attourney
        City of St. Paul City Attorney
        City of St. Paul Police Department-
        City of St. Paul Police Department, FORCE Unit
        Hennepin County Attorney
        Initiative for Violence-Free Families/Family & Children's Service
        Minnesota Center for Crime Victims Services
        Ramsey County Attorney


    Community Awareness & Education Campaigns  
        Dispute Resolution Center (St. Paul)
        Minneapolis Mediation Program
        PEACE (Parents of East African Common Efforts)
        Person to Person
        Powderhorn-Phillips Cultural Wellness Center


    Conflict & Dispute Resolution  
        Dispute Resolution Center (St. Paul)
        MCDA - Community Outreach Department
        Minneapolis Mediation Program
        Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program


    Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)  
        Central Community Housing Trust
        Design Center for Urban American Landscape
        Minneapolis Police Dept. CCP/SAFE
        St. Paul Police Department, FORCE Unit (Focusing Our Resources on Community


    Legal Resources/ Ex-Offender Support  
        Ramsey County Corrections


    Neighborhood Safety Projects  
        St. Paul Neighborhood Crime Prevention Organizers


    Networks for Sharing Crime Prevention Ideas  
        St. Paul Neighborhood Crime Prevention Organizers


    Rental Property Owners Groups  
        Community Crime Prevention / SAFE
        Lyndale/Kingfield Rental Property Owner's Group
        St. Paul Police Department, FORCE Unit (Focusing Our Resources on Community


    Restorative Justice Projects  
        BIHA Women in Action
        Dispute Resolution Center (St. Paul)
        Kwanzaa Community Fellowship Church
        Legal Rights Center, Inc.
        Powderhorn-Phillips Cultural Wellness Center


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