The Tribune`s Feb. 6 lead editorial, ”Time to take a new tack on crime,” strongly endorsed a community policing approach for Chicago. The editorial applauded the Chicago Alliance for Neighborhood Safety`s excellent report on the subject.
Law enforcement agencies with successful community policing programs are few and far between. Big city police departments are organized to react to crime, not to prevent it or to deal with the issues causing it. Community policing has worked best in locales where crimes tend to be less frequent and less violent than in Chicago. In Seattle, where the approach shows signs of working, jails are only now reaching capacity. In Chicago they operate at three times capacity.
The U.S. Department of Justice recently revamped its crime control program under the banner of ”Operation Weed and Seed.” The first priority is to weed out violent criminals, drug trafficking and illegal gang activity in high-crime neighborhoods. Under the second prong, communities would be
”seeded” with social, economic and community revitalization programs.
Unless community action is well-informed, well-organized and financially supported, ”weed and seed” will only be so much blather. In order for the program to work, it`s critical that crime reduction strategies match a particular community`s resources and needs.
The Police Executive Research Forum has verified that police organizational structures and the people in them are programmed to resist change. It will take time and sustained pressure from the top ranks to make community policing a reality at the district and precinct levels.
While community policing offers a vital untapped arsenal for Chicago, it must be built on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis. There is no substitute for a community that decides to put its foot down in confronting crime. However, technical assistance may be needed to sort out what crime control techniques work under what conditions, how to fill priority service gaps and in raising the performance level of community agencies required for crime prevention.
Local efforts by the Chicago Alliance for Neighborhood Safety and others to put accurate information on crime ”hot spots” in citizens` hands should be supported. The Illinois Criminal Justice Authority is the nation`s leader in the integration of crime surveillance data and the prediction of crime surges. Further development of this technology is essential.
Roosevelt University`s Institute for Metropolitan Affairs and the Chicago Bar Association are working together to assess the costs, benefits and risks of alternative crime reduction approaches and to support community groups in implementing them. With the naming of a new police superintendent, every organization with a stake in Chicago should back community efforts to achieve an acceptable degree of physical security.
