Blog 5: The Police and the Community

            Throughout history low-income community members have been distrustful of police and their ability to reduce crime. This tension between community members and police is fueled by police misconduct or incidents where police actions are called into question. For example, the 2009 New Year’s Day shooting of an unarmed Oscar Grant by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle sparked an up roar within the low-income communities of Oakland and increased the community’s fear and distrust of police because they saw the incident as unjustified (Tucker, Zito, & Knight, 2009). According to Rahtz author of Citizen Police Academy (2005), when police take extreme or questionable actions the public becomes very skeptical and quickly conclude that the incident was the result of police brutality and incompetence because they do not have a concrete understanding of the incident or the requirements of police work (p. 48).

 To better connect with the community and build relationships with community members many police departments practice community policing. According to Friend and Martinez (2010), community policing is a style of policing which focuses on crime prevention, building community relationships, and creating trust between the police and community members. This is accomplished by assigning police officers to specific communities where they are required to work closely with the community members in an effort to determine what problems are facing the neighborhood (Friend & Martinez, 2010). Then these officers must develop a plan to solve these problems (Friend & Martinez, 2010). Community policing has been proven to be very effective at reducing crime and improving the relationships between police and low-income community members. This is why according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, over 65 percent of police departments with more than 100 officers reported having officers assigned to community policing (as cited in Harris, 2009). However, as the current economic crisis grows and government budgets continue to be reduced many law enforcement agencies are forced to stop practicing community policing.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the country currently have to make tough decisions on what services can be stopped and how many police officers can be laid-off in an effort to keep spending within their lean budgets. A study conducted by the United States Department of Justice found that budget cuts have resulted in fewer officers patrolling the streets which prevent officers from practicing community policing because much of their time is spent handling calls for service (Diamond, 2009).  The reduced number of police officers has married officers to the radio. This prevents officers from developing any sort of relationship with community members because they must process the call as fast as possible since there is a constant backlog of calls (Diamond, 2009). A  Lieutenant in the Contra Costa County Sheriff Department stated in a personal interview, that budget cuts have virtually eliminated the opportunity for community policing because street patrols have been reduced to only three two man cars for the entire county during slow nights. The department has been forced to lay-off or reassign officers who once filled resident deputy positions. These positions were established to provide low-income communities with a deputy who works closely with the community and has intimate knowledge of the problems facing the community. This allowed community members to build relationships with the officers and feel more comfortable reporting incidents which resulted in a reduced crime rate (personal interview, 2010).

The elimination of these community policing officers or resident deputies is not as cost effective as it may appear. This is because patrol officers only deal with calls for service and do not attempt to solve the root cause of the crimes. Officers assigned to community policing are required to be problem solvers and search out the root cause of the problem while developing a plan to remedy the problem (Harris, 2009). This results in reduced calls for service, crime, and an overall reduction in cost associated with prosecutions (Harris, 2009). In addition, these officers transform the image of the department in the minds of community members through their close interaction which builds trust and establishes a sense of safety among the involved community members (Friend & Martinez, 2010). According to Carroll the Chief of Police for the West Goshen Township Police Department in Pennsylvania (2010), the consequences of eliminating community police officers is an overall increase in crime and less secure communities. Community members do not feel as comfortable reporting a crime when they know street patrol officers will handle the case in the most time effective manner (Carroll, 2010).

Due to the value, importance, and success of community policing practices local governments and the federal government have made a collective effort to fund the programs. Some local police departments have developed creative ways to fund community policing for example in Pomona, California, the city council allowed the police department to use over $111,000 in funds from its overtime account to pay the salaries of two community policing officers (Harris, 2010). On the federal level the passage of the Recovery Act provided over $1 billion to the United States Department of Justice which must use the money to fund community policing programs on the local law enforcement level (Friend & Martinez, 2010). The Recovery Act funds are intended to be used to hire new officers and prevent lay-offs due to budget cuts (Friend & Martinez, 2010). Overall, community policing is a very effective tool for police departments because it helps to improve community relations which leads to more confidence in the police and reduction of crime within low-income communities.

References

Carroll, M. (2010). Police Chiefs Lead in Challenging Times. The Police Chief, 77(1), 6. Retrieved November 29, 2010, from ProQuest Database. (1967874611).

Diamond, D. (2009). Community Policing: Looking to Tomorrow. U.S. Department of Justice: Department of Community Oriented Policing Services. Retrieved November 28, 2010.

Friend, Z. & Martinez, R. (2010). Preserving Community-Oriented Policing in a Recession. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 79(11), 10. Retrieved December 1, 2010 from ProQuest Database. (2187090401).

Harris, P. (2009). What’s a Crime Prevention Officer Worth?. Sheriff 61(6), 18. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from ProQuest Database. (1871741921).

Rahtz, H. (2005). Citizens Police Academy. Law and Order, 53(4), 47-51. Retrieved November 28, 2010, from ProQuest (835664071).

Tucker, J., Zito, K., & Knight, H. (2009, January 2). Deadly BART Brawl. SF Gate. Retrieved November 28, 2010, from  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/01/BAB9152I2Q.DTL

Blog 4: Foreclosure and Crime

           

          Low-income communities have always been plagued by neighborhood deterioration in the form of rundown or abandoned buildings, graffiti, and broken windows. This deterioration is said to be a major factor leading to increased crime within low-income communities. According to the Broken Windows Theory created by Wilson and Kelling (1982), when neighborhoods have physical signs of deterioration community members are less likely to make improvements to the neighborhood resulting in increased crime because of the appearance of the neighborhood (as citied in Tuthill, 2008). This relationship between higher crime rates and neighborhood deterioration has become more evident with the current economic crisis and the massive spike in residential foreclosures. At the peak of the crisis in 2007, one in every 196 homes in America was foreclosed (Whitworth, 2008). The numbers of foreclosures were much higher in low-income neighborhoods because residents within these communities obtained more subprime loans due to their lack of credit, low-income, and job status (Tuthill, 2008).

Foreclosures left low-income streets lined with houses where the lawns are overgrown, trash is left piled, and they are vacant. This attracts all sorts of criminal behavior. Vacant properties are very attractive to drug dealers and users, prostitutes, and burglars because they serve as the perfect place to commit illegal acts while providing shelter.  In Modesto, California, police state that drug dealers have taken over many vacant homes and are using the yards to grow marijuana (Mummolo & Brubaker, 2008).  Atlanta police state that drug users, prostitutes, and squatters have taken over a vast majority of the foreclosed homes inside low-income communities (Mummolo & Brubaker, 2008).  According to Immergluck and Smith, for every one percent raise in the foreclosure rate the crime rate within Chicago rose 2.3 percent (as cited in Dalton, Gradeck, &Mercaldo, 2008). In a more alarming study researchers in Austin, Texas, claim that 83 percent of abandoned and foreclosed properties in Austin’s low-income neighborhoods show signs of illegal activities (Dalton, Gradeck, &Mercaldo, 2008). These studies show that there is a strong correlation between vacant properties and criminal activity.

When foreclosed and vacant properties are used for criminal activity they are often severely damaged and fall into a state of disrepair. Squatters will accidently set fire to the homes because they use candles and fires to light and heat the houses since there is no electricity. These fires often get out of control and end up burning the entire house down or causing massive structural damage (Dalton, Gradeck, &Mercaldo, 2008). Burglars will come into foreclosed properties and rip the walls apart in order to steal the copper water lines and electrical cables. This causes the values of the properties to be drastically reduced since they need so much repair. The decreased property value of foreclosed houses also causes the values of non-foreclosures to drop since there are so many houses for sale within the neighborhood and they have a negative impact on the appearance of the neighborhood. According to a study conducted by Temple University an abandoned house reduces the property values of adjacent homes by an average of $6,720 (as cited in Dalton, Gradeck, &Mercaldo, 2008).

In order to reduce the crime rates local governments need to develop plans that are tailored specifically to the neighborhood. Local governments need to work at improving the local economy by attracting businesses which will create jobs within the community (Tuthill, 2008). This will provide community members with an income that will aid them in paying their mortgage and reducing the potential for foreclosures. By improving the economy, community members will have more money to make improvements to their residents. Additionally, local governments will be able to collect more tax money that could be used to improve the community’s infrastructure (Tuthill, 2008). There is also evidence that shows the use of geographic information system is helpful. These systems  compile data on foreclosures and crimes within a certain neighborhood, in order to aid in the creation of public policy and law enforcement efforts to reduce the crime rates. Many of these systems use maps to show where crimes occur and where foreclosed and abandoned homes are located, which allows law enforcement to increase patrols where needed (Dalton, Gradeck, & Mercaldo, 2008). Overall, the increased number of foreclosed homes in low-income communities has resulted in higher crime rates because the properties are not maintained. Community members, local governments, and the banks who own these properties all need to work together to improve the community environment in an effort to reduce crime.

           

References

Dalton, E., Gradeck, R., & Mercaldo, A. (2008). Using Maps of Home Foreclosures to Understand National and Local Problems. National Institute of Justice: Geography and Public Safety, 1(3). Retrieved November 20, 2010 from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/topics/GPSNewsletter.pdf

Munnolo, J. & Brubaker, B. (2008). As Foreclosed Homes Empty, Crime Arrives. The Washington Post. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/26/AR2008042601288.html

Tuthill, L. (2008). Breaking New Windows – Examining the Subprime Mortgage Crisis Using the Broken Windows Theory. National Institute of Justice: Geography and Public Safety, 1(3). Retrieved November 20, 2010 from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/topics/GPSNewsletter.pdf

Whitworth, A. (2008). High Rates of Foreclosures Lead to Crime Increases Nationwide. National Institute of Justice: Geography and Public Safety, 1(3). Retrieved November 20, 2010 from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/topics/GPSNewsletter.pdf