Program for the Elimination of Drug-Related Crimes in Low-Income Residential Areas
Axios
Policing
Problems addressed
Disorder and disturbance (or breach) of the peace
Community satisfaction with police work
Violence related to alcohol and/or drugs
Crime and delinquency (multiple types)
Effectiveness

Effective

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Effective

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Life periods served
People of all ages
Where the program was applied
Residence / home
Community (streets or community centers)
Country of application
United States
Description

This is an inter-agency collaborative program aimed at empowering low-income tenants to promote a better quality of life and safety around their homes and to combat drug abuse.
The key points of the program are:
1) Organization of meetings focused on problem-solving among neighborhood stakeholders;
2) Development of a neighborhood improvement committee;
3) Hiring a local resource coordinator to mediate collaboration between residents and other program participants;
4) Coordination of crime prevention education programs;
5) Creation of the “adopt a tenant” program, in conjunction with local stores, to improve neighborhood infrastructure;
6) Installation of community policing units near the low-income residential area.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation showed that the project contributed to positive changes in residents’ perceptions of the quality of life in their neighborhoods and perceptions of police services, as well as to a decrease in the level of crime in their areas of residence. The study indicates that community collaboration is likely to have led to a decrease in crime and disorder in the area that received the intervention, considering the number of drug arrests and crime reports [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Giacomazzi, A. L. (1995). Community crime prevention, community policing, and public housing: an evaluation of a multi-level, collaborative drug-crime elimination program in Spokane, Washington (Doctoral dissertation, Washington State University).

Information source