ESLARP East St. Louis Action Research Project
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Planning

Emerson Park Community Safety Plan

UP374/394, Spring 1991

A Collaborative Effort by:

MAY 1992

Edited by:

Oren M. Levin and Kenneth M. Reardon, Ph.D.

Produced by:

Jinat M. Ali, Matthew Alu, Lisa A. Bartkus, Megan L. Kelly,
Oren M. Levin, Robert M. Montgomery, Paul T. Pagones, Beatrice
Perkins, Steve W. Saborin, Bruce A. Sylvester, and Kimbery A. Wolf

Supervised by:

217-333-3890

Abbreviation Full Phrase Page First Used

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The success of the Spring 1991 semester's Emerson Park Research Project depended on the assistance of many individuals and organizations from the East St. Louis community. The Steering Committee of the Emerson Park Development Corporation helped advance the project in many ways. They provided an orientation to the community, established contacts for the student researchers and offered comments on the original research design and preliminary public safety plan.

The Metro East Area Project Board helped by sponsoring the project and arranging for the use of the Bethlehem Baptist Church for the final community presentation of the preliminary plan. The staff of the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood Center contributed to the effort by participating in the orientation program and providing facilities for the student researchers to use during the project. Ms. Ceola Davis and Ms. Lois Sweatt of the Outreach Department and Mr. Ralph Collins of the Community Services Department were especially supportive of this effort as was Mr. William Kreeb, Executive Director, of the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House.

The staff of the National Crime Prevention Institute at the University of Louisville provided excellent technical assistance to the project by sharing information regarding "model" community-based, anti-crime programs from throughout the country. Local, county and state law enforcement officials were also helpful in this regard, particularly, Mr. Willie Reid of the East St. Louis Alcohol and Other Drug Task Force.

The offices of former East St. Louis Mayor, Carl Officer, and current East St. Louis Mayor, Gordon Bush, were extremely supportive and helpful throughout the project. Both officials took time out of their busy schedules to speak with members of our research team and made their staffs available to us.

The Research Team would like to express their thanks to the Administrative Staff of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for their assistance on this project. Without their assistance, and the ongoing support of Professor Lewis D. Hopkins, Head of the the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, this project would not have been possible. We would also like to express our gratitude to Mr. Ishag Shafiq who served as our Graduate Teaching Assistance for this effort.

Finally, the Research Team would like to thank the many residents of Emerson Park who agreed to be interviewed for our project and who attended our various community meetings and events throughout the semester. We hope this plan assists local residents in securing the public and private sector support they need to create a safer and healthier Emerson Park. This goal, if achieved, will improve the quality of life for neighborhood residents while contributing to the stabilization of the East St. Louis community.

CHAPTER ONE - THE EAST ST. LOUIS NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING WORKSHOP AND CRIME IN EAST ST. LOUIS:

A. History of the Neighborhood Planning Workshop

B. Project Methodology

C. Current Conditions

D. The Community Safety Plan for the Emerson Park Neighborhood

History of the Neighborhood Planning Workshop:

In 1988, State Representative Wyvetter Younge challenged the administration of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to demonstrate its concern for the state's urban poor by developing a technical assistance project in East St. Louis, Illinois. President Stanley O. Ikenberry responded by asking the School of Architecture and the Departments of Landscape Architecture, and Urban and Regional Planning to cooperate in establishing an interdisciplinary community assistance program involving students and faculty. Students and faculty from these units have completed more than twenty research projects since the Fall of 1988, focused on community problems. This research has explored various issues concerning the city, including environmental concerns, housing concerns, economic issues of employment and business development, urban design, and citizen participation.

In the Summer of 1990, Assistant Professor Kenneth M. Reardon was asked to coordinate the efforts of University planners working within East St. Louis. He began this process by asking more than thirty civic leaders for their suggestions regarding where the University planners should focus their efforts. Many community leaders urged the University to concentrate on the serious problems facing the city's older residential neighborhoods. According to local leaders, these areas had been neglected by public officials and were experiencing critical housing, employment, crime, and municipal service problems.

Mr. William Kreeb, Executive Director of the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood Center, encouraged the University planners to speak with the leaders of the Metro East Area Project Board. This group is a recently established coalition of community organizations formed to mobilize citizen efforts to fight juvenile delinquency. With financial support from the State of Illinois' Department of Children and Family Services (DCSF), the Metro East Area Project Board has succeeded in developing seven community-based advocacy organizations.

In the Fall of 1990, University representatives addressed the Executive Committee of the Metro East Area Project Board regarding the University's community assistance project. The Executive Committee asked if the Department of Urban and Regional Planning would assist its member organizations in developing comprehensive neighborhood stabilization plans for their individual areas. The Department agreed to provide these planning services to one neighborhood on a trial basis. At the end of the meeting, the Executive Committee of the Metro East Area Project Board decided that the Department of Urban and Regional Planning should begin its work in the Emerson Park neighborhood, the poorest area of East St. Louis, where the planning needs were the greatest.

Following this initial meeting with the Metro East Area Project Board, University faculty met with leaders of the Emerson Park Development Corporation (EPDC) to discuss how they would work together to formulate a research plan aimed at addressing and meeting the needs of the community. University staff and community leaders desired to embark on a joint effort to develop a five-year community stabilization plan aimed at addressing the neighborhood's housing, employment, and crime problems.

Ten students from the University's Department of Urban and Regional Planning began working in the Emerson Park neighborhood in the Fall of 1990. They began their work by collecting detailed Census, land use, building condition, and street maintenance data on the area. After four months of data collection, the students prepared a preliminary draft of the Emerson Park Neighborhood Improvement Plan (EPNIP). This plan was presented to area residents for review in early December of 1990. This 140 page document presented specific programs aimed at achieving the following five objectives:

- To clean up and beautify vacant lots.

- To improve the neighborhood's housing stock.

- To enhance public safety by reducing drug abuse.

- To increase job opportunities for area residents.

- To strengthen citizens' organization within the community.

Local residents met again in January of 1991, to formally adopt the Emerson Park Neighborhood Improvement Plan and to formulate a campaign to implement various aspects of the plan. Community residents began the process by prioritizing the various components of the improvement plan. After a thorough discussion of the entire improvement plan, residents selected drug abuse and public safety and their first priority and the most important issue. Following this decision, the Emerson Park Development Corporation asked the Department of Urban and Regional Planning if it would assist local leaders in developing a community-based substance abuse and crime prevention program. In agreeing to help, the Department assigned a second group of students to work with area residents. This work was carried out during the Spring 1991 Semester.

Project Methodology:

Our research team developed a relatively simple research design to develop the needed information for a well-designed neighborhood safety plan. The research protocol consisted of six sections, each of which is described in detail.

TEAM ORIENTATION:

The research team began its work in East St. Louis with a day-long orientation to the community. The orientation began with a meeting at Representative Wyvetter H. Younge's office. Representative Younge described the major issues facing local and state policy-makers from the area. The team then met with various staff members of the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood Center and with members of the Emerson Park Development Corporation's Executive Committee to discuss their goals for the public safety planning project. After a break for lunch, the team met with Reverend Robert C. Jones of the Metro East Area Project Board's Executive Committee. Finally, Professor Kenneth Reardon lead the team on a tour of the Emerson Park neighborhood.

Map 1.1: The City of East St. Louis.

Map 1.2: The Emerson Park Neighborhood

CRIME PREVENTION BRIEFING:

The team was eager to secure basic background information on the topic of community crime prevention. Toward this end, the Research Team invited representative of the crime prevention units of the University of Illinois, the City of Champaign, and the Champaign County Sheriff's Office to speak to them regarding effective crime prevention. These law enforcement officials discussed philosophies of crime prevention, and various community-based and national crime prevention programs. In particular, they stressed the value of contacting the National Sheriff's Association in Washington, DC, as well as the National Crime Prevention Institute (NCPI) in Lexington, Kentucky. Based on this advice, the team contacted both of these resource centers for information.

RESEARCHING LOCAL CRIME RATES:

Following these two initial educational activities, the Research Team sought to secure basic crime statistics for the Emerson Park neighborhood. It was discovered that neighborhood level crime data is not collected by local, state, or Federal law enforcement officials. This failure to desegregate local arrest data to the neighborhood level makes it difficult for community-based organizations to develop appropriate crime prevention strategies. The team was equally unsuccessful in collecting city-wide crime statistics. The East St. Louis Police Department depends of the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department to collect and summarize such statistics and the team was not able to get a response to requests for current East St. Louis crime data from the Sheriff's Department. As a result, county-wide data was relied upon for analytical purposes.

INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL OFFICIALS:

The team decided to conduct personal interviews with local, regional, state and Federal officials to gain a detailed knowledge of the nature and scope of criminal activity in the Emerson Park area. During the months of February and March, the Research Team interviewed more than forty law enforcement and public officials familiar with the East St. Louis crime scene regarding their views. Among the law enforcement officials interviewed were local police officers, the East St. Louis Police Chief, the East St. Louis Housing Authority's Security Director, and members of the East St. Louis Alcohol and Other Drug Task Force. Among public officials interviewed were City Council members, the Mayor of East St. Louis, County Board members, State Representatives, and an Assistant to the Governor.

VISITING THE NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION INSTITUTE:

After gaining a basic understanding of the nature of Emerson Park's crime problem, members of our team travelled to the National Crime Prevention Institute at the University of Kentucky at Louisville. Members had the opportunity to interview both the Institute's Research Director and the Executive Director regarding basic crime prevention strategies. In addition, the research team had the opportunity to comb through the world's largest crime prevention library for basic reference materials. In the course of several hours, the team collected and made copies of over seventy-five documents describing model crime prevention programs. Among the topics researched in the library were neighborhood watch, property identification, drug awareness and education, community policing, and crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) programs.

CONTACTING MODEL CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAMS:

Upon returning from the National Crime Prevention Institute, team members began contacting organizations with "model" programs, as identified by the National Crime Prevention Institute. During the months of March and April, information was collected regarding the operation of more than a dozen neighborhood-based crime prevention programs.

The information gained in each of these research sections was used to develop a comprehensive, community-based crime prevention program for the Emerson Park neighborhood.

Current Conditions:

In 1989, there were 87 murders in Saint Clair County, second only to Cook County (with 810 Murders). The disproportionate number of murders that occurred in St. Clair County underscores the serious crime problem that this area faces. At the core of this problem lies the city of East Saint Louis, the principle city within the county, where 63 of the 87 murders occurred. In 1989, the population of East St. Louis was 47,620. In that year, there were 6,397 crimes: 63 murders, 135 criminal sexual assaults, 658 robberies, 1,561 aggravated assaults and battery, 1,576 burglaries, 1,225 incidents of theft, and 29 cases of arson (1989 Crime Index Report of the FBI Uniform Crime Update, p. 132). Since not all crimes are reported to the police department, the total number of crimes committed in East St. Louis is, most likely, even higher than these figures indicate. Table 1.1 compares the per capita crime rate of East St. Louis with Cook County and the State of Illinois. The data shows the serious and worsening nature of crime in East St. Louis.

Table 1.1

Crimes Per People 100,000

East St. Louis and Selected Areas 1984 to 1989

(Illinois State Police Uniform Crime Data)

YEAR EAST ST. LOUIS COOK CO. STATEWIDE

1984 6,909.4 7,388.1 5,404.8

1985 6,376.8 7,396.1 5,432.2

1986 9,587.0 7,740.7 5,679.9

1987 9,795.3 7,340.1 5,534.7

1988 12,605.6 7,679.8 5,663.8

1989 13,535.8 7,876.8 5,701.3

Table 1.1 shows that the per capita crime rate for St. Clair County surpassed that of Cook County in 1986. Since then, the crime rate for East St. Louis has been increasing at a faster rate than either Cook County or the Statewide average. By 1989, the East St. Louis crime rate is nearly double that of Cook County.

Table 1.2

Change In Reported Serious Crimes

East St. Louis, 1988-1989 (FBI Uniform Crime Report for 1989)

1988 1989 % Change

Motor Vehicle Theft 770 1150 49.4

Robbery 549 658 19.9

Murder 53 63 18.9

Theft 1187 1225 3.2

Aggravated Assault 1540 1561 1.4

and Battery

Sexual Assault 137 135 -1.5

Burglary 1958 1576 -19.5

Arson 42 29 -31.0

The data shows that the problem of crime in East St. Louis is not only serious, but it is growing. Table 1.2 (above) shows the changes in crime rates between 1988 and 1989. While criminal sexual assault, burglaries, and arson declined, murder, robbery, aggravated assault and battery, theft, and motor vehicle theft all increased. The increasing problem of crime affects all areas of East St. Louis. One neighborhood that has been especially effected by the city's growing crime problem is the North End community of Emerson Park.

In the Fall of 1990, a student research team from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign conducted a comprehensive study of physical and social conditions in the Emerson Park neighborhood and found that the median income in 1980 was $5,828. This is in sharp contrast to the median income for all of St. Clair County ($19,239). The study also showed that 66.5% of families within the neighborhood live below the 1980 poverty level (only 14.1% of the entire County live below the poverty level). Then, female-headed households made up 50.7% of Emerson Park while just 13.2% of County families were female headed. Finally, while the county had a 9.75 unemployment rate in 1980, 30.7% of Emerson Park residents were without jobs. It is understandable then, that given these conditions, some individuals will look toward criminal activity as a way to survive economically in a city with so few opportunities.

LOCAL PERCEPTION OF CRIME IN EMERSON PARK:

The residents of Emerson Park are extremely frustrated by the problems of crime in their community and have decided to do something about it. At a neighborhood meeting in January 1991, the residents of Emerson Park had the opportunity to vote on their priority item among the five areas of improvement offered by the 1990 research team's Emerson Park Neighborhood Improvement Plan[1]. The Emerson Park residents designated "Crime Reduction" as their number one goal for the neighborhood. The community reported that crime and drug abuse are major obstacles to improving the neighborhood. Due to the prevalence of drugs use and sales, and other illegal activities on the streets of their community, a number of local citizens are concerned about their children's safety. In a survey conducted before the completion of the plan, 47.1% of neighborhood residents indicated that they were not satisfied with the level of police protection provided in their neighborhood (EPNIP, p.55). In addition, over half of the residents rated existing drug and alcohol treatment services as insufficient (EPNIP, p.60). Echoing the concerns of many, one resident stated,

I know if I could get out of this place I would in a minute, before my kids drop out of high school and get involved in doing and selling drugs like their friends. Parents don't have any influence on their kids anymore around here because the crime environment is so bad that the kids have no idea that their lives can be any other way. (Resident speaker, Community Meeting, January 1991)

In an effort to assist the Emerson Park community, the research team conducted interviews with various public and law enforcement officials to learn more about the roots of the Emerson Park crime problem and about possible means of addressing this problem. Most of the public officials interviewed held similar view regarding the causes of the problem. Many officials thought that rising drug abuse rates were driving crime rates upward. One interviewee described the severity of current conditions by stating the current situation with drugs has, "twelve-year old girls selling their bodies and fourteen-year old boys carrying handguns around when their older brothers have them 'make a run'" (interview with East St. Louis Police Department Sergeant (Retired) Larry Brewer, March 1991). Newly elected Mayor Gordon Bush mentioned that he believes East St. Louis has faced a dramatic downturn in the last five years due to a, "...lax governmental attitude," especially within the police department. Mayor Bush plans to establish rehabilitation centers for drug users and to, "Productively utilize probationers for various community service purposes." He stated that he has witnessed the crime problem "really get out of hand," and plans to combat criminal activity with "whatever is in [his] means." (Interview with Mayor-Elect Gordon Bush, March 1991)

The research team also spoke to Representative Wyvetter H. Younge. Her perception of the East St. Louis crime problem was similar to that of many other public officials. She stated that, "there is no economic base in this town," and explained that red lining by area banks and the inability of local businesses to receive financial assistance contributed to the economic deterioration of East St. Louis. High unemployment rates led many to criminal activities since those who are unemployed are often left with little or no financial foundation or reserves (interview with Representative Wyvetter H. Younge, March 1991).

The impressions given by the local officials are substantiated by the crime data gathered by the research team. Conditions of low income, poverty, single-parent female-headed households, and unemployment make the implementation of an effective public safety plan a challenging task.

The Community Safety Plan for the Emerson Park Neighborhood:

After examining the historic causes of the current drug and crime problem that exists in the Emerson Park neighborhood, interviewing local officials and crime prevention experts, and researching effective or 'model' crime prevention and reduction programs, the team has developed a comprehensive strategy to help the residents of Emerson Park accomplish their goal of reducing crime within the community by making it a safer place to work and live. The Research Team have identified five means of increasing public safety: Increase the physical security in residential homes; Restructure the physical design of the neighborhood to inhibit criminal activity; Reduce the incidence of drug and alcohol abuse; Promote community-based crime prevention; and Increase and improve the involvement of local policing agencies in local crime fighting efforts. Each of these will be thoroughly developed in the following chapters. The report was developed to help guide the coordinated efforts of local residents, law enforcement agencies, and public officials in accomplishing the goal that the Emerson Park residents identified as their most pressing: improving neighborhood safety.

CHAPTER TWO -PHYSICAL SAFETY:

A. Introduction

B. Residential Security

C. Commercial and Social Services Security

D. Industrial Security

E. Conclusion

Introduction:

The goal of this chapter is to introduce successful methods of protecting homes or businesses against crime. The first step in accomplishing this goal is to understand that crimes result from the coexistence of both the desire and the opportunity for individuals to commit criminal acts (Residential Security, Overland Park, KS Police Dept., p.1). If an individual has the desire to commit crime, they are most likely to commit such acts where there is a clear opportunity. This chapter provides the necessary information to recognize the areas of homes or businesses that offer criminals opportunities and to illustrate ways of reducing these problem areas. The majority of crimes are committed by unskilled amateurs and revolve around opportunities created by victims. The following pages will show how residents can reduce crime in Emerson Park.

Residential Security:

"Statistics show that the national crime rate is increasing yearly, and residential burglary is one of those crimes," (Overland Park Police, p.2) One of the major reasons for the increase in residential burglary is that homeowners make it easy for burglars to gain access to their houses. "No force is necessary in approximately one-forth of the burglaries in the United States." (Montgomery County, MD Police Dept., p.1) Many perpetrators simply open unlocked doors and windows to enter.

While the prevention of burglaries is one of the many responsibilities of the police department, there are limits on how much they can accomplish without public support and cooperation. Carelessness by homeowners can lead to increases in the number of crimes committed in a community. This section will show ways of increasing the security of entry and sliding doors, door hinges, garage doors, double-hung and casement windows, and locks and bolts. In addition, lighting, group-buying, Operation Identification, and personal training programs will be examined.

Physical Changes To:

Entry Doors:

The most prevalent point of entry for intruders is through doors. To make it harder to secure entry, make certain that exterior doors have a solid wood core (Figure 2.1) or are metal. Most hollow core doors offer little protection and are easily broken. Doors with viewing windows present a further security danger when the lock can be reached in the event the viewing window is broken. Security requires that door windows be made with a shatter resistant glazing material and have double cylinder deadbolt locks.

Hollow and Solid Core Doors (Overland Park Police, p.4)

Figure 2.1

The door should fit snugly into the frame with no more than an 1/8-inch clearance between the door and the frame. If the gap is greater than an 1/8-inch, the best solution is to either rehang the door or replace it. If this is too expensive, a sturdy strip of metal can be bolted to the door's edge to reduce the gap. A hardware dealer can show you the type of strip to use. Solid core wooden doors cost around $40 to $60, metal entry doors cost around $80 to $100, and metal strips cost around $7.00.

An additional change that should be made to your door is the installation of a door viewer. Door viewers can be easily installed in most doors and allow residents to see and identify individuals who are outside before opening the door. Choose one with a minimum amount of distortion and a wide field of view. There are viewers available with moveable fields of view that cost approximately $10.00.

Sliding Doors:

Burglars like sliding doors because they can be easily opened. You secure a sliding door by keeping it from sliding open or being pried up and out of its track when locked. Several types of lock are available that are especially made for sliding glass doors. You may also augment the existing lock by placing a "Charlie-Bar" (a solid piece of wood or broom handle) in the bottom track of the closed door (Figure 2.2). This prevents the door from being opened if the lock is jimmied.

Charlie Bars (Take a Bite Out of Crime Anti-Slide Lock

Illinois Criminal Justice. p.4) (Overland Park Police, p.7)

Figure 2.2 Figure 2.3

An anti-slide lock can also prevent the door from being opened (Figure 2.3). It is secured to the top or bottom track by a lever, key or thumb screw. These devices are available from a local hardware dealer and cost between $8.00 to $15.00.

Readers should also make sure that sliding doors themselves cannot be lifted out of their tracks. To do so, take one of the following steps:

- If your door has adjustable rollers at the top of the door, adjust them so that the they are high enough to prevent the door from being lifted off the track while still allowing the door to move freely.

- If your door does not have adjustable rollers, you can insert two screws into the top frame at points "A" and "B" as shown in Figure 2.4. Again, the idea is to keep the door from being lifted out of the track while leaving enough of a gap to allow the door to open freely.

Protecting a Sliding Glass Door (Overland Park Police, p.7)

Figure 2.4

A Locking Hinge Pin (Illinois Criminal Journal, p.3)

Figure 2.5

Door Hinges:

Door hinges should have the hinge-pin on the inside, safe from a burglar's tools. If any of your exterior doors have their hinge-pin on the outside, it is not difficult to remove the pin and then the door from the frame. There are two easy things that can done to protect these doors:

- Replace the existing hinges with new ones that have non-removable pins. Hinges cost from $5.00 to $12.00

- Adjust the existing hinges. Remove the middle screw from each hinge plate and replace them with a metal pin on one side of the hinge. The pin should stick out 1/2-inch from the hinge plate (Figure 2.5).

Garage Doors:

An inexpensive way to secure an overhead garage door is to place a heavy lock through the door's wheel track (Figure 2.6). You can also drill holes through the rods that extend from the door as part of the locking mechanism. A bolt or lock can then be slid through the rods once they have passed through the wheel tracks. Heavy-duty padlocks cost approximately $15.00

Locking Your Garage Door Wheel Track (Overland Park Police, p.8)

Figure 2.6

Windows:

Most burglars are hesitant to break large sections of glass. The primary objective in securing windows is to keep a burglar from prying open the window. While most windows come with a standard thumb lock, you should not rely on these alone.

To secure double-hung, wooden frame windows, you drill a hole (as shown in Figure 2.7) on each side of the frame. The hole should go all the way through the inner frame and only halfway through the outer one. To lock the window, place a bolt or nail in the hole. The window cannot be opened until you remove the bolt. Casement windows are easily secured by removing the crank handle. The handle should then be placed out of view. Along with securing windows against being opened, heavy gauge screens should be installed on all first floor windows and doors with partial glass construction. Screens cost around $1.00 or less per square foot.

Securing Double Hung Windows (Overland Park Police, p.13)

Figure 2.7

Locks and Bolts:

Chances are that the existing locks on your house were chosen with economy, rather than security, in mind. The majority of homes have inexpensive key-in-knob locks. These are easy to slip open with a credit card, or to break open with a screwdriver. A dead-bolt type of lock (Figure 2.8) will offer much better protection against entry. When you turn the key in a dead-bolt lock, the key slides a strong metal bolt from the door into the frame. When buying a dead-bolt lock, look for the following characteristics:

- The bolt should extend at least one inch from the edge of the lockplate.

- The screws that hold the lock together should be on the inside face of the door.

- The strike plate should be attached to the door frame with screws that are at least three inches long.

- The cylinder should have a steel guard -- a ring surrounding the key housing. The cylinder should rotate freely or be tapered to prevent wrenching the lock off the door.

Dead-bolt locks can be found in most hardware stores and cost between $15.00 to $25.00.

Parts of a Dead-Bolt Lock (Illinois Criminal Journal, p.6)

Figure 2.8

An Auxiliary Rim-Mounted Lock (Illinois Criminal Journal, p.7)

Figure 2.9

Another good type of lock is an auxiliary rim-mounted lock with a dead-bolt (Figure 2.9). The lock itself mounts to the inside face of your door. The lock-rings attach to the door frame. These should both be secured with long, sturdy screws, similar to those that you would use for a dead-bolt lock (At least three inches long). When you engage the lock, a metal bolt holds the lock tightly to the lock-rings. These locks are relatively easy to install and hard for burglars to remove.

The weak point in many otherwise good locks is often the strike plate. Figure 2.10 shows a good strike plate (Figure 2.10a) and three that are more common (Figures 2.10b-d). While all strike plates should attach with long, study screws that are at least three inches long, the strike plate show in Figure 2.10a has an extra set of screws holding it to the door frame. Strike plates cost around $7.00.

Figure 2.10a Figure 2.10b Figure 2.10c Figure 2.10d

Strike Plates (Overland Park Police, p. 10)

Figure 2.10

Two additional types of locks are padlocks and slide bolts. When using a padlock (Figure 2.11), choose one with a case hardened, steel shackle that is at least 3/16 of an inch in diameter. The shackle should lock at both the heel and the toe and the lock itself should have at least a five pin tumbler. If you are going to use a chain with the padlock, make sure that it is made of hardened steel and is at least as thick as the shackle of your lock. An additional security measure is to record the serial number or key number from the lock, store it in a safe place, and then grind the number off the lock. This will prevent someone else from obtaining a replacement key for "their" lock. Padlocks cost anywhere from $7.00 to $22.00. When using a padlock hasp (Figure 2.12) mount it so that when closed, the hasp covers the screws on the hinge and shackle plates. The shackle should be at least as thick as the shackle of your lock, and the hasp mounted with sturdy screws that are at least three inches long.

Padlock Hasps (Illinois Criminal Padlocks (Overland Park Police, p. 9) Journal, p. 4)

Figure 2.11 Figure 2.12

Beside padlocks and hasps, there is an additional type of lock known as slide bolts (Figure 2.13). These are not recommended as security locks.

Slide Bolts (Overland Park Police, p. 9)

Figure 2.13

Lighting:

Because many burglaries and assaults are crimes of opportunity, good exterior lighting can prevent crime. Areas such as porches, yards, and all entrances to your home should be well lit at night. Special attention should be given to lighting the periphery of your property. One way to do this is with spot or floodlights. These lights provide wide areas of light and cost anywhere from $10 to $30. An additional, less expensive way to provide lighting is with regular lights. Pick the type of light than fits your needs and your budget.

GROUP-BUYING:

There have been many items in this chapter that you can buy. One effective way to reduce the cost of these home security items is through a process known as group buying. This process unites buyers of a particular item into one group. Instead of everyone going out and buying their items individually, the group buys all the items as a whole. Often, group buying can significantly decrease the cost of each item and save money for everyone.

The Emerson Park Development Corporation (EPDC) should initiate a group buying process with a Home Security Checklist (Appendix Two on page 29). The EPDC should distribute this checklist to all homeowners in the neighborhood along with an estimate of the costs for associated security. The checklists should be returned to the EPDC within a week and a half to two weeks. At that point a list is made of all the items that need to be bought. The EPDC could then contact hardware stores, wholesalers, or manufactures to determine the best prices available and then give a list of these prices to the homeowners. The homeowners could then return this list to the EPDC with the numbers of each item that they would like and the money to pay for these items. The EPDC could then go on to buy the home security items at the reduced cost.

OPERATION IDENTIFICATION:

Most burglars sell what they steal, making it hard for the police to trace stolen property. Unless a victim can prove ownership of a piece of stolen property, the police, very often, cannot return it. One way to prove ownership and protect you property is through Operation Identification. There are three basic steps involved in Operation Identification:

- Residents should borrow an electric engraving pen from their local police and use it to engrave a special identification number (given to the residents by the police department) onto their possessions. Items to be engraved include, but are not limited to: television sets, radios, stereos, typewriters, portable appliances, and tools.

- Once all items are engraved, the residents should make a list with the identification number and all the items that have been engraved. This list should be kept in a safe-deposit box or in a safe, secret location within the house.

- Finally, it is important to let potential burglars know that the items within the home are marked for ready identification and can be easily traced. An Operation Identification sticker, similar to the one shown in Figure 2.14 should be obtained from the police department and displayed on the front door and one or two first floor windows.

An Operation Identification Sticker (Overland Park Police, p. 16)

Figure 2.14

In Birmingham, Alabama, citizens implemented an Operation Identification program for television sets and citizen band (CB) radios, two of the most popular items being stolen. Approximately 85 television repair shops in Birmingham agreed to begin engraving driver's license numbers onto television sets. A Birmingham insurance company provided the engravers that were distributed by local civic organizations. A major electronics chain with stores in the Birmingham areas pitched in as well. The management agreed to advertise the wisdom of having a driver's license number engraved on CB radios. The chain also held special Crime Resistance Days where CB owners could come and have their radios engraved.

Birmingham is now seeing positive results from their local program. Many stolen CB radios have been recovered because they have numbers engraved on them. This has also shortened the time it takes the police to return stolen items to their rightful owners. In another example, residents in Phoenix, Arizona, who did not participate in an Operation Identification program there, had 18 times as many burglaries as their neighbors who did participate in the program (National Crime Prevention Council 3, p. 16).

CRIME PREVENTION EDUCATION PROGRAMS:

In addition to physical changes that can be made, neighborhood residents need to be educated regarding self defense and crime prevention. The strength of a successful training program lies in its concentration on crime prevention and in a comprehensive plan for the participation of all segments of the community. These segments are the residents, local businesses, and local law enforcement and social service agencies.

The process of public education is one of the most important aspects of training programs. A good process can be adapted to fit a wide range of topics. The police department can sponsor this effort by hosting lectures and workshops for concerned citizens. The police are the most qualified and have the most ready access to the applicable resources needed for these types of programs.

The basic objectives of these programs are to familiarize residents with various techniques and ways of practicing personal safety. The programs, made up of workshops, targeted toward the following, potentially high-risk, groups: the elderly, the neighborhood youth, the disabled, local business owners and operators, and any other interested citizens. One a month, an informal and experimental workshop held at the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House. The workshops should run from approximately 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM and be led by a police officer. Each workshop should focus on one of the following topics:

- Home Security

- Store and Business Security

- Safety when Walking

- Safety when Driving

- Safety for the Disabled

- Making Playgrounds Safe for Children

- The Organization and Workings of Youth Groups

- Common Cons and Rip-offs

- Participant Observation

- Crime Reporting Techniques

- What is "Suspicious Behavior" Anyway?

- Ways to Prevent Illegal Dumping

Technical assistance for these workshops should come from the East St. Louis Police and Fire Departments. The implementation of these workshops consists of four steps:

- The Emerson Park Development Corporation should contact the police department to schedule times and topics for the first three workshops.

- Once the times are agreed upon, notices should be distributed and posted around the neighborhood at least two weeks before the first workshop. The notices should include a phone number for residents to call to sign up for workshops. The EPDC should then develop a list of interested residents. This list can be used to organize future Citizen Based Community Crime Prevention Programs (Chapter Five).

- After the third workshop the program should be evaluated using the following criteria:

. Has resident enthusiasm increased?

. Has crime been reduced?

. Have at least 10% of the residents been involved?

. Is there sufficient funding to continue the program?

- If the program is meeting these criteria, more workshops should be scheduled.

- The program should then be evaluated every two months. Upon these subsequent evaluations, the percentage of resident involvement increases by 3% each time until a minimum of 25% of the residents are involved.

FIRE AND ACCIDENT PROTECTION:

Fire and accident prevention are two more important areas that can affect the real and perceived level of safety within the community. Every home should be surveyed regarding existing safety and fire risks. The East St. Louis Fire Department should be able to provide residents with information regarding how to conduct such home surveys. Special efforts should be made to examine storage of flammable material, mechanical equipment, and firearms. Attention should also be given to the adequacy of home living and sufficiency of fire exits. All homes should also be checked for working smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and fully supplied first aid kits. The safety of home furnaces and the functioning of heating related ventilation systems must be checked. Finally, all kitchen duct works should be checked for cleanliness. A disproportionate share of house fires are caused by greasy kitchen fires and foods.

ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD ANTI-CRIME, SELF HELP PROGRAM:

Studies have shown that successful inner-city crime public safety programs share certain common factors. An effective program cannot focus on crime prevention only, but it must also address other community problems, integrating crime prevention into the greater goal of community revitalization. Educational programs that focus on physical safety for homes and businesses can set the stage for housing and commercial revitalization. These types of programs strengthen the social networks within the neighborhood, giving residents a feeling of community ownership and encouraging informal social standards -- all vital factors in reducing crime and the fear of crime.

The research team is advocating a "bottom up" approach to crime prevention that draws upon existing resources within the community. An individual or group interested in starting a public safety program should look to formal and informal community organizations and groups that are already established, whether active or dormant, for assistance. Organizations that can provide help for such community crime and drug prevention programs include, but should not be limited to, churches, citizen groups, tenant associations, community coalitions, business associations, senior citizen organizations, youth services' groups, mental health care centers, and hospitals.

Successful public safety programs draw needed technical assistance in crime prevention strategies from local law enforcement officials, corporate security officers, foundations and corporations. Other factors that many successful programs share include:

- The promotion of good communication among residents and between the neighborhood citizens and the police department.

- Publicizing their successes. Positive media coverage can correct misconceptions about an area or neighborhood, increase trust and confidence among residents, and discourage criminals and criminal activity.

- Acknowledging volunteers and participants with awards and other forms of recognition.

- Paying attention to aspects of the physical design of space that could lead to more frequent criminal problems. Improved lighting, decorative curbing, and plants can reduce crime and enhance residents' perceptions of their neighborhood at the same time. For a complete look at how physical changes can affect crime, see the next chapter (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design).

An example of a successful public safety program is the Neighborhood Anti-Crime, Self-Help Program. The Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation (in cooperation with the Ford Foundation, The National Institute of Justice, IBM, and 40 other corporations, foundations, and government bodies) launched its Neighborhood Anti-Crime, Self-Help Program in ten cities in 1983. The program provides initial funding and technical assistance to community organizations to develop programs that will reduce opportunities for crime, will help youths learn job skills and become involved in the community.

Commercial Security:

Many, if not all, of the steps detailed above are applicable to commercial establishments and offices. In addition, there are some security measures that are also appropriate for businesses. These include security alarms and changes in employment procedures. There is also the need for industrial security and safety programs. However, because most medium or larger, firms have their own security or safety directors and because these businesses are usually beyond the range of most community planning and activity, industrial security has not been included in this report.

SECURITY SYSTEMS:

Commercial security systems, depending on the quality and the capability of the system, can vary in cost and may go as high as several thousand dollars. Depending on the type of system you choose, there may be an extra high initial cost with additional monthly maintenance costs. In general, there are three major types of security systems that are available.

- Local Alarms: This type of alarm rings a bell or flashes lights when an intruder enters a business. This alarm system is not connected to a remote location such as the police or your security company. Upon hearing this type of alarm going off, neighbors must know to call the police department.

- Central Station or Silent Alarms: Instead of going off at a business, these types of alarms go off at a remote location like the police station or at your security company. In many cases, criminals will not know that the alarm has been set off.

- Automatic Direct Dial Alarms: This is a further step in central station alarms. The alarm activates a tape-recorded message, transmitted to the police department by telephone. A check must be made with the local police or sheriff's department to make sure that this type of alarm is legal within a given community.

Combination systems are also available. One can buy security systems that can include fire detection and suppression systems as well. This could be an important choice if a business has grills or grates over the windows. If you do choose a combination system, make sure that the burglar alarm and the fire alarm have different sounds, so that you, the police, and fire department can tell them apart.

EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT:

A second method of commercial security is through employee management. Employee Management consists of three steps: employee screening; cash area restrictions, and cashier training.

- Employee screening is the process of checking for criminal backgrounds of prospective employees. Permission must be given by applicants before employers can perform this check. This is a common practice among employers and helps create an overall sense of security among employees.

- Cash area restrictions limit the number of employees and customers who have access to money at the workplace. Typically, employees have a special ID to gain access to the cash area.

CONCLUSION:

This chapter has detailed a number of ways that you, as an individual or as a community, can make your home or business safer. While all homes and commercial establishments are potential locations for crimes to occur, following the guidelines established in this chapter can significantly reduce the likelihood of crime taking place on your property.

Other chapters of the report have been mentioned or referenced within the chapter. While the methods described here can work by themselves, they are most effective when used as part of the overall crime prevention strategy suggested by the entire report. All the elements work together to make your neighborhood safer.

APPENDIX TWO -HOME SECURITY CHECKLIST:

This checklist identifies areas of your home that need attention to improve the safety and security of your home. It is meant to be used with the information contained in Chapter Two of the Community Safety Plan for the Emerson Park Neighborhood. Page 31 has a worksheet to use as you go through the checklist. The checklist is broken up into sections that deal with different areas of your home. Each section has a page number after the heading. These refer to the corresponding sections in Chapter Two. Once you have completed the worksheet, return it to the Emerson Park Development Corporation at the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood Center so that a "group buying" strategy can be used to LOWER YOUR SAFETY AND SECURITY COSTS.

Home Security Checklist:

Entry Doors (page 13):

1. Are all of your exterior doors solid core? Do you wish to install solid core doors?

2. If there are viewing windows, could the lock be reached if the window were broken out? Do you wish to install shatter resistant glass or do you wish to install a grate over the existing window?

3. Do the doors fit snugly into their frames? Is there more than a 1/8 inch gap between the door and the frame? Do you want to install metal strips to close this gap?

4. If the exterior doors have no windows, do you want to install a door viewer?

Sliding Doors (page 14):

5. Do sliding doors have anti-slide locks? Do you wish to buy these types of locks? Do you have charlie bars for your sliding doors? Charlie bars can be made by cutting a piece of 2"x4" to fit between the closed door and the far end of the door frame.

Door Hinges (page 15):

6. Do any of the exterior doors have hinges with removable pins? Do you want to replace the entire hinge or adjust the existing hinge?

Garage Doors (page 16):

7. Does your garage door lock securely? Do you want put a heavy-duty padlock on the wheel track or through the locking mechanism?

Windows (page 16):

8. Are there heavy-duty screens on all ground floor and first floor windows? Do you wish to protect these windows with screens?

Locks and Bolts (page 17):

9. Do your exterior door have deadbolt locks? Do you wish to install deadbolt locks in the door or do you wish to use rim-mounted locks?

10. Are the strike plates for all the locks secure? Should you replace any of them with security strike plates?

11. Are there other areas of your property (like fence gates or shed doors) that need locking? Use a heavy-duty padlock.

12. Are there shed doors that need a lock hasp in order to be secured?

Lighting (page 20):

13. Are there outdoor areas of your house and property that are poorly lit at night? Would a spotlight or a regular light fixture solve this problem?

Fire and Accident Protection (page 24):

14. Are there battery operated smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in your home? You should have at least one smoke detector on each level of your home and an additional detector in the kitchen. Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen as well.

15. Do you have a well stocked first aid kit in your home?

Home Security Worksheet:

Items Needed How Many?

1. Install Solid Core Doors. How many doors do you need?

2a. Install Shatter Resistant Glass. How many windows need to be replaced? What size pieces of glass do you need?

2b. Install Grates over the windows. How many windows need to be covered? What size grates do you need?

3. Install Metal Strips. How many feet of metal striping do you need?

4. Install Door Viewers. Do you want viewers with a moveable field of view? Yes or No (Circle One). How many viewers do you need?

5. Install Anti-Slide Locks. How many locks do you need?

6. Install Security Hinges. How many hinges do you need? (Remember -- you may need 2 or 3 hinges per door.)

7. Install an Heavy-Duty Padlock. Do you need a padlock for your garage?

8. Install Window Screens. How many windows do you need to cover with screens? What size screens will you need?

9a. Install Deadbolt Locks. How many deadbolt locks do you need?

9b. Install Rim-Mounted Locks. How many rim-mounted locks do you need?

10. Install Security Strike Plates. How many strike plates do you need?

11. Install Padlocks. Do you have fence gates that need locking? How many padlocks do you need?

12. Install Secure Hasps. How many lock hasps do you need?

Home Security Worksheet (cont.)

13a. Install Spot or Flood Lights. How many light fixtures do you need?

13b. Install Regular Lights. How many light fixtures do you need?

14a. Install Smoke Detectors. How many smoke detectors do you need?

14b. Install a Fire Extinguisher. Do you want a fire extinguisher for any other part of your home?

15. Have a Well Stocked First Aid Kit. How many kits do you want?

CHAPTER THREE - CRIME PREVENTION THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN:

A. Introduction

B. Reducing Public Access to the Emerson Park Neighborhood

C. Increasing Surveillance in the Emerson Park Neighborhood

D. Reducing the Ease and Appeal of Crime

E. Directing the Construction of New Homes in Emerson Park

F. Conclusion

Introduction:

The previous chapter outlined specific steps which homeowners and businesspersons can take to improve the security and safety of their individual properties. This chapter describes actions that the neighborhood organizations, working with local officials, can undertake to improve the security and safety of streets, sidewalks, parks, and other community open spaces. Many of these ideas are the result of work by the eminent psychologist Oscar Newman. In the early 1960's, Oscar Newman was asked to study various ways to enhance safety and security within hi-rise public housing complexes. He described these initiatives to improve safety and security through physical design as "defensible space" techniques. Subsequent scholars working in this area have renamed this sub-field "crime prevention through environmental design" or CPTED for short.

Oscar Newman's approach to creating defensible spaces emphasized the powerful impact that the built environment has upon human behavior. Newman's research established a clear relationship between the layout and design of buildings or communities and the crime rates that they experience. To improve safety and security in a given area, Newman proposes three critical design principles.

- Encouraging natural surveillance by residents by making public spaces more clearly visible to residents.

- Establishing territorial perogatives of local residents with physical and symbolic barriers.

- Promoting and publicizing the presence of an organized and self-protecting community.

Communities build and organized with these design principles in mind, argued Newman, would encourage self-defense actions by residents and discourage criminal activity. Research on public housing projects built using Newman's defensible space ideas have shown their effectiveness in preventing crime. As a result, more and more builders and designers are taking these ideas into account when constructing new homes. Very few communities, however, have used these ideas to alter and improve an existing built environment to reduce crime. The research team is suggesting the use of Newman's defensible space ideas and techniques to reduce criminal activity in Emerson Park -- a low income, high crime area of East St. Louis. The specific methods for implementing Newman's principles are through CPTED. The goal of the Emerson Park CPTED program is to reduce the neighborhood crime rate by taking aggressive steps to eliminate "blind spots" where resident surveillance is impossible due to the poor layout of streets and buildings, inadequate street lighting, poorly maintained trees and shrubs, and a low level of citizen organization among residents. The steps that the Emerson Park CPTED program will take to realize this goal are:

- Control public access into the neighborhood and onto public or private property within the community.

- Increase visibility and promote surveillance by residents and municipal employees.

- Increase the usage of public and open spaces to emphasize residents' control of these areas.

- Reduce the ease and appeal of crime by increasing the rate and speed at which criminal activity is reported.

The following sections of this chapter discuss the actions to be taken, project costs, and available sources of funding to implement the Emerson Park CPTED plan.

Reducing Public Access to the Emerson Park Neighborhood:

The first of the five steps for Emerson Park to implement is the reduction of access and travel through the neighborhood. The major steps to achieving this goal are to:

- Control access and ease of travel through Emerson Park.

- Control access to private property.

- Control access to public housing.

CONTROLLING ACCESS AND TRAVEL THROUGH THE EMERSON PARK NEIGHBORHOOD:

Controlling access into Emerson Park will reduce crime by preventing easy entrance and exit of people to and from the neighborhood. The key to access control is the creation of barriers to prevent unauthorized people from entering an area (Moody, p. 17). This will reduce the number of "non-residents" who are in the area, which will facilitate the surveillance of the area by local residents. By decreasing the number of "non-residents," local residents will be better able to identify strangers and keep an eye on those people who do not belong within the community. The director of the local Neighborhood House stated that much of the area's through traffic is due to illegal drug activity. According to the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), "The most frequent location of violent crimes is on the streets." (NCPC 1, p.14) Therefore, reducing the number of strangers in Emerson Park may be an effective first step towards reducing the local crime rates. The research team suggests that the following steps be taken to reduce through traffic in Emerson Park.

Reducing Non-Resident Automobile Traffic:

Reduce the level of non-residential automobile traffic through the neighborhood by making it a less convenient route between downtown East St. Louis and the Lansdowne neighborhood. This could be accomplished by the installation of several stop signs along 15th street, making it a less desirable route. A consistent local enforcement effort will be necessary to encourage people to take these stop signs seriously. A second step is to lower the speed limit along 15th street. Active police enforcement of the speed limit will further discourage the use of this major thoroughfare through the neighborhood.

Reducing Commercial Traffic:

A second area of traffic to reduce is the commercial traffic that travels through Emerson Park. This commercial traffic should be reduced by through changes in the local zoning ordinance that would discourage commercial activities at intersections within the neighborhood. To the greatest extent as possible, the new zoning should encourage commercial activity to locate at major intersections on the periphery of the neighborhood. Encouraging the relocation of existing commercial uses to the borders of the neighborhood will reduce the level of commercial and automobile traffic through Emerson Park. This proposal is consistent with many features of contemporary Planned Units Development (PUD) that reserves the core area of new Planned Unit Developments for residential purposes.

CONTROLLING NON-RESIDENTIAL ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY WITHIN EMERSON PARK:

The second way to reduce public access to Emerson Park is through the restriction of access to private property. Controlling access to private areas will reduce crime by making it more difficult for criminals to enter homes and businesses. By reducing access to residents' homes, criminals will be more likely to become discouraged and seek to commit crime elsewhere. The use of symbolic and physical barriers will serve to lower the risk of being vandalized or robbed. Barbara Brown and Irwin Altman state that, "Non-burglarized houses were more likely than burglarized houses to have actual barriers, such as fences and locks, to deter intrusions." (Brown, p.216) In addition, Barry Poyner states that, "Publicly accessible land bordering on a house is likely to increase the risk of burglary." (Poyner, p.47) It is important, therefore, to clearly define the end of "public space" and the beginning of "private space." There are a number of ways that this can be accomplished.

Create Clear Borders:

First, provide clear border definition for the controlled space. This could be accomplished by enclosing residents' back yards with fences. Residents of Emerson Park can contribute to a group fund through a local non-profit organization to help lower the cost of such fencing. This organization would then contract with a local business to install backyard fences to reduce access to individuals' homes. Residents could also buy, on a group basis, or be provided with various safety devices such as porch lights and door locks. The team recommends that low (4 foot) chain-link fences be used to enclose residents' back yards. These fences clearly define boundaries without preventing surveillance of the yard. For front yards, the use of picket, split rail, or low chain-link fences along the sidewalk to clearly locate the boundaries of resident's property are recommended.

Create Transition Zones:

Second, provide clearly marked transition zones that indicate movement from public to private spaces. The residents of Emerson Park should request that residential areas of the neighborhood have sidewalks repaired, replaced, or when necessary, installed. Once these sidewalk repairs have been completed, along with the installation of fences, there will be a clear transition between public space (sidewalks) and the beginning of private space (fences).

Create Symbolic Barriers:

The use of symbolic barriers should also be encouraged. Residents can use landscaping, lawn decorations, and signage to create a series of psychological barriers aimed at decreasing intruders. For example, a property border of decorative stone, followed by a short hedge, followed by a taller row of shrubs, a well-lit sign "The Cleaver Home," and a fence with a gate will offer subtle discouragement to criminals. These barriers inform a would be intruder of the resident's commitment to privacy. Figures 3.1 and 3.2 shows a wonderful example of an Emerson Park resident's use of symbolic barriers in communication the private nature of its purpose.

Symbolic Barriers in Emerson Park-I

Figure 3.1

Symbolic Barriers in Emerson Park-II

Figure 3.2

Controlling Access to Public Housing;

The third method of controlling access to the neighborhood is to restrict the accessibility to the public housing that exists within Emerson Park. The Emerson Park Development Corporation should approach the East St. Louis Housing Authority with a proposal to limit access to the neighborhood's public housing. The proposal should include the following points:

- The installation and maintenance of fences on all public housing property.

- Sealing all unused buildings to prevent their use.

- The creation of an official policy limiting access to public housing to residents and their guests.

- The use of physical and symbolic barriers.

Increasing Surveillance in the Emerson Park Neighborhood:

The second step to implementing the Emerson Park CPTED program is to increase the residents' surveillance ability. Nationally, "The most frequent location of violent crimes is on the street (22.5%). The second major category for violent crimes is inside one's own home or another building on one's own property (14.4%) with a location near one's own home a close third (12.3%)." (NCPC 1, p.14)

INCREASING VISIBILITY:

Increasing visibility is one way to help prevent crimes. Currently, many vacant lots in Emerson Park are overgrown with brush and weeds, and littered with trash. All of these obstacles give criminals a sense of security by providing places for them to hide. These obstacles also prevent residents from being able to effectively look around their neighborhood to detect criminal actions or suspicious persons. The Research Team suggests the following steps be taken to increase the visibility within Emerson Park:

- Examine police records and arrest data to identify areas to be targeted for special police protection and patrol.

- Identify all the local lots that are overgrown and littered with trash. Submit an immediate request to Operation New Spirit to get them clean.

- Contact the St. Clair County and U.S. Probation Departments to establish a regular program for maintaining all area lots, that have been cleared, with the assistance of probation workers.

- Identify abandoned structures that need to be torn down. Develop and submit a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) proposal including funding for such demolitions.

- Organize residents to demand from the Mayor that the City enforce the existing "anti-dumping" ordinances that prohibit illegal dumping within the community.

- Organize regularly scheduled "Community Clean-Up Days" to encourage residents to participate in cleaning local lots that have become overgrown. Cleaning should include the removal of shrubs and weeds from any sidewalks along vacant lots. An appropriate grass cover should be selected and applied for all cleared lot to prevent erosion and to improve neighborhood aesthetics.

- Identify areas that are inadequately lit during evening hours. Solicit a CDBG proposal to pay for the addition of needed lighting.

- Remove obstacles that prevent easy surveillance of the neighborhood from the front of residents' yards. Trees should be trimmed to that no branches are lower than 10 feet off the ground. Large objects, such as bushes, lawn ornaments, and recreational vehicles, should be kept close to the home so that they do not obstruct vision at the border of one's property. Local utility companies might be contacted to help with the tree trimming

- Discourage residential use along main roads. Poyner states that, "Houses should not face onto main through-roads, and should preferable not be easily seen from such routes." (Poyner, p.42) The road to the North of the Route 13th service road and 15th Street appear to abut main routes through Emerson Park. New homes should not be built along these thoroughfares. These properties should be considered for commercial or industrial use. Houses that can be seen from these main streets should be provided with screening, such as tall fences that do not allow passersby to inspect the private possessions of these property owners. Privacy, stockade, or other type of solid fence or natural screening with tall, thick shrubs and bushes should be used to limit the ability of potential criminals to inspect these areas and plan crimes on these properties.

IMPROVING EXISTING HOMES:

In addition to altering open spaces to increase visibility, CPTED advocates making changes to private homes to aid in the monitoring and surveillance of the community. Brown and Altman state that, "Non-burglarized houses were more detectable, i.e., neighboring houses could be more easily seen from non-burglarized houses. Visual access could encourage the development of shared defense of the street or it could make a burglar uncomfortable regardless of the neighbors' behavior." (Brown, p.216) For this aspect of CPTED, the following steps are recommended:

- The fronts of homes should be free of shrubs, trees, walls, and solid fences that restrict easy surveillance of private properties by their owners, neighbors, or municipal employees. Poyner states, "Accessible sides of houses should be relatively open and unobstructed ... and be close to the street and to other houses which overlook them." (Poyner, p.42)

- The rear areas of homes should be enclosed to prevent easy access to hard to see areas. Poyner states, "There should be no open access from the front to the rear of the house. Access might be restricted with full height locked gates." (Poyner, p.440)

- Lights installed on the outside of all homes, on both the front and back sides. A style of light that illuminates entrances and some of the surrounding yard is recommended. Particular attention must be given to peripheral lighting. Criminals do not like entering private property when their movements can be easily detected at the edge of the property. Yard lights are also recommended in areas where there is not adequate street lighting. The Emerson Park Development Corp. should ask the East St. Louis Police Department and the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department to conduct home security checks within the area. These law enforcement officials can offer advice to local residents on lighting purchases. The EPDC could help homeowners secure lower prices through a group buying strategy. Also the EPDC may be able to secure state or Federal support for such home security efforts by applying for locally earmarked drug and crime prevention funding. A CDBG proposal should be submitted requesting funding to help provide resident with proper lighting for their homes.

- Residents should be encouraged to keep curtains open so that they can more easily monitor activities on their street and in the community.

- Future homes should be build close to the street and clustered. Homes that are isolated from the street or from other homes are more likely to be burglarized than homes build closer to the street and to other neighboring homes.

INCREASING FORMAL SURVEILLANCE:

In addition to aiding surveillance by the removal of obstacles to residents' vision, CPTED incorporated the idea of promoting active group surveillance in addition to the passive forms of surveillance already discussed. The goal of active group surveillance is met primarily through community crime watch groups and community policing. "People feel safer and perceive their neighborhoods to be safer with crime prevention programs. In a national survey, 725 of Neighborhood Watch area residents 'perceived the rate of crime in their Neighborhood Watch areas to be lower than in adjacent neighborhoods.'" (NCPC 2, p.4) These types of surveillance are covered in greater detail in the Community Based Crime Prevention and Community Policing Chapters of this report.

Increasing the Usage of Public and Open Spaces:

The third step toward the implementation of the Emerson Park CPTED program is to increase the use of public and open spaces within the neighborhood. Increased usage of public spaces can prevent crime by increasing the amount of activity in places where crimes might otherwise occur. Increases in use will also encourage and enhance surveillance because of the increased number of people in a given environment with an interest in its protection. Methods of increasing usage do not rely of physical changes, such as placing park benches or playground equipment in a park, alone. It also involves making open spaces more attractive and fostering a spirit of community (Moody, p.17). Specific way to increase the use of public areas include:

- Installing playground equipment at the Canaday School playground and adjacent park facilities to encourage the utilization of this centrally located park area.

- Organize periodic events in public places, such as flea-markets, block parties, and other activities that would draw a large number of people. The ideal location for such events would be the intersection of Exchange Avenue and 9th Street. The community could organize a farmers' market on alternate weekends. The EPDC could request funding from the Illinois Department of Agriculture and from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs to buy shelters that could then be set up at the intersection for farmers' markets and other events. All of these events should be advertised within the neighborhood as well as the rest of East St. Louis.

- Establish several community gardens in the neighborhood. The establishment of these gardens near the existing public housing is encouraged. Specifically, community gardens could be established at the East St. Louis Housing Authority Project at the intersection of Nectar and 13th Streets, Winston and 13th Streets, and at Lake and 17th Streets. In addition, a community garden could be created at the Center for Housing Development at Baugh and 15th Streets Technical assistance could be provided to residents seeking information regarding appropriate plant varieties and cultivation techniques through the University of Illinois' Cooperative Extension program. Specific lots should be set aside and designated as "Garden Plots" where people who do not own land can grow fruits and vegetable in a part of the garden that has been assigned to them. This plan would increase the use of the large expanses of land that surround neighborhood housing facilities. By using these areas for gardens, individuals might be deterred from engaging in illegal activities in these areas. Surplus produce could then be brought by residents to the farmers' market to be sold. Arrangements could also be made to market surpluses through other outlets such as the Soulard Market in St. Louis.

Reducing the Ease and Appeal of Crime:

Finally, the forth step in implementing the Emerson Park CPTED program deals with preventing crime through changes that will "intimidate" criminals and make them less likely to commit crime in the Emerson Park neighborhood. This section deals with physical changes that can make criminals "uncomfortable" in a neighborhood. This is accomplished through the placement of signs throughout the neighborhood. Signs inform would be criminals that Emerson Park has an active crime prevention program. Signs such as "Welcome to Emerson Park -- A Neighborhood Watch Community" could be installed at prominent intersections within and at major entrances to the neighborhood. Additional neighborhood watch signs can be installed throughout the neighborhood reminding potential criminals of the organized nature of the area. Signs can demonstrate that the community is actively engaged in crime prevention and other community improvements that send a signal to potential criminals that they are in an area where people are likely to take action to report suspicious activities. Such signage may also serve to increase the sense of ownership that local residents feel over both the private and public land in the area. This heightened sense of territoriality may encourage them to challenge individuals engaging in suspicious activity within their neighborhood.

Directing the Construction of New Homes in Emerson Park:

In addition to working with current homeowners and tenants on how to improve security on or near their property, it is important that steps be taken to insure that any new construction take into account the principles of CPTED to reduce the potential for crime. Whenever new housing for this area is constructed, the following considerations should be addressed as part of their design.

- Building lots along the major collector streets in the area should be avoided. Baugh Avenue and 15th Street should not be targeted for new housing construction.

- Vacant sites on otherwise occupied streets should be used for scattered site construction to strengthen these blocks. This is the process of "infill" development.

- Larger sites, next to fully occupied streets, should be considered for new multi-family housing. These new complexes should be low density, garden style apartments, build in a clustered layout that encourages interaction between families sharing human-scale open spaces.

- The following factors should be considered in the design and construction of new housing units:

. The streets, sidewalks, open spaces, right of ways, and parks in areas surrounding these new units should be clearly visible and easy to inspect from inside the units.

. Functional and symbolic barriers should be used to actively discourage access to these new residential areas by strangers.

. Street lights, along with sufficient periphery lighting of these sites, should be used to make undetected entry difficult for automobiles.

. Backyard fences should be used to make access to partially hidden areas of the property difficult.

. The layout of multi-family units should leave appropriate setbacks from streets to increase the ease of surveillance.

. Multi-family units should be aggregated on a cluster model around small scale residential courtyards where residents could become familiar with their neighbors and more likely to notice and report suspicious activities or automobiles.

. New multi-family units designed around such courts my empower residents to keep control of these courts and thereby feel safe.

Conclusion:

The implementation of the Emerson Park CPTED program to existing as well as future housing can affect the level of criminal activity in the neighborhood. The Emerson Park Development Corp. should take an active role in leading the community toward this goal. The creation and the fostering of a sense of belonging and ownership begins with the individual property owner and spreads to encompass the entire neighborhood. CPTED offers the tools to achieve this goal.

CHAPTER FOUR - CREATING A COMMUNITY-BASED SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION POLICY

A. Introduction

B. Local Substance Abuse Prevention Efforts

C. Local Substance Abuse Intervention Programs

D. Local Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

E. An Outline for the Emerson Park Substance Abuse Prevention,

Intervention, and Treatment Program

F. Conclusion

Introduction:

One of the primary causes of crime in the Emerson Park neighborhood of East St. Louis is the substance abuse problem, mainly in the form of alcohol and crack-cocaine use. An entire drug culture has developed from the economic gain of selling drugs. Many of those who do not sell it commit crimes to be able to support their habits or addictions. One goal of the Emerson Park Community Safety Plan is to eliminate alcohol and drug abuse within the community. The residents of Emerson Park are eager to see strong action taken to combat the local alcohol and drug problem. This chapter will seek to address the following concerns:

- Creating an environment where substance abuse is not tolerated by local residents.

- Providing residents with the knowledge of, and the access to drug and alcohol treatment programs

- Helping establish a network of locally based self-help programs based on the "12 Step" program of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) to support individuals and families through the recovery process.

- Empowering residents to feel more comfortable in their community.

- To establish criteria for which to evaluate the success of the programs.

Communities that have been successful in combating substance abuse adopt a comprehensive approach featuring prevention, intervention and treatment activities. The Neighborhood Planning Workshop has compiled a variety of data that deals with substance abuse programs that have been tried and proven successful in similar urban areas. In this section of the report these programs will be presented and their success will be discussed. The chapter is broken up into three major sections: intervention, prevention, and treatment.

Local Substance Abuse Prevention Efforts:

This section will discuss youth education, adult education, local enforcement, and community media programs through the identification of a number of model programs. These programs seek to assist residents by:

- Enhancing self esteem.

- Improving communication and problem solving skills.

- Developing activities as an alternative to chemical dependency.

- Increasing residents', particularly youths', knowledge regarding the dangers of abuse and of the opportunities for treatment.

These programs are designed to strengthen the resistance of local residents to the appeal of substance abuse. The programs are not being presented as the dictated solution of what should be done in Emerson Park. Each community must choose programs that they feel will work well in their area. These programs must always be revised considering the particular circumstances facing that community.

LAW ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS:

Through the East St. Louis Alcohol and Other Drug Task Force, a comprehensive anti-drug enforcement program should be developed for Emerson Park. For this, the research team requests the deployment of an undercover team to collect data on local dealers and users in preparation for a series of major drug arrests. We also recommend the establishment of a foot patrol in the community during high crime hours. The East St. Louis Housing Authority should establish its own security program that will carefully screen new residents for criminal records, enforce local drug laws, and take quick action to evict residents who violate these laws. Local merchants should be urged to end all illegal cigarette and alcohol sales to minors, and area churches should lead community-wide marches to known drug sales areas in the neighborhood to discourage such illegal activity. These marches should be organized on a regular basis with police protection. Such activities will serve to disrupt local drug sale activities and make Emerson Park a less desirable place to conduct such sales. Examples of successful community enforcement programs include:

The Logan Square Neighborhood Association:

The Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) is a citizen organization in Chicago, IL that is working to handle its neighborhood drug and crime problems. The approach that they have taken is very simple: First, they implemented a drug education program in all the area's schools. This program was designed to motivate, educate, and involve youths and their families regarding the overall needs of their community. The second step was to plan, coordinate, and promote activities for young people that served as positive alternatives to substance abuse and dependency in the community. Their accomplishments so far have included:

- Organization of a school rally at which 300 residents showed their support for local school-based drug abuse prevention programs. This resulted in the establishment of "Drug Free School Zones" at all six schools in Logan Square.

- A strict residential parking program was implemented to allow easy identification of cars that did not belong to residents. Residents were issued stickers for their cars that permitted them to use area on-street parking. Along with an aggressive towing policy, this reduced the ease with which automobile based drug dealers could conduct business in the community.

- The LSNA organized a rally that secured and increased police visibility in a parking lot surrounding senior housing that had been used for illegal drug activity.

- Outreach programs to area schools, churches, and block clubs mobilized residents against drug abuse in and around six area elementary schools. Residents were organized to serve on Neighborhood Watch and Patrol programs.

- As a result of the identification of over 60 "hot spots" by local residents, 50 arrests were made in the Fall of 1990.

- The LSNA established block clubs that participated in graffiti paint-outs, gang prevention and education activities, the distribution of drug abuse information, and the identification of suspected drug sale locations to the local police commander.

For more information, contact the Logan Square Neighborhood Association at: Logan Square Neighborhood Association

3321 West Wrightwood

Chicago, IL 60047

312/384-4370

Project Director: Nancy Aardema

The Northwest Bronx Community Clergy Coalition:

A second law enforcement program is being carried out by the Northwest Bronx Community Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) in New York City. The main goal of this organization is to preserve and develop this changing area of the Bronx as a healthy, vibrant community of law abiding, working class families. The area of the Bronx in which the group is located is 47% Hispanic, 43% Black, 6% White, and 4% other. Over 60% of these residents receive public assistance and live in sub-standard housing. This community organization has accomplished the following:

- It forced the closing of a major drug complex by organizing a Federal seizure and eviction of drug dealers by Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) personnel.

- It built a partnership between business and law enforcement officials that stopped the installation of a public phone in a heavy drug trafficking area. These phones are no longer available to local drug dealers to organize and direct street-level drug sales.

- It helped move 24 families, 14 of who were living in the city's shelter system, into a renovated house that had been used to sell drugs and support prostitution.

- It started a working relationship with important drug enforcement and prosecution agencies, obtaining pledges of swift coordinated action against drug-buying and selling.

For more information, contact the Northwest Bronx Community Clergy Coalition at:

The Northwest Bronx Community Clergy Coalition

103 East 196th Street

Bronx, NY 10468

212/584-0515

Project Director: Elizabeth O'Leary

Waterloo, Iowa:

A third enforcement program was designed in Waterloo, Iowa, to address the issue of alcohol abuse. Waterloo, Iowa, is a city of 72,000 that has the largest concentration of minorities of any city in Iowa. In the 1970's, Waterloo thrived on the high wages of its John Deere and Rath Packhouse workers. However, when the farm crisis caused area residents to loose their jobs, over 10,000 workers were laid off. Many of these people suffered great economic problems and emotional traumas that caused many to abuse alcohol and other drugs, mistreat family members, or attempt suicide. The traumatic health effects of long-term job loss are well documented in employee relations literature. The residents of Waterloo, Iowa, decided to take collective action to address the problems that unemployment related substance abuse was causing their community. They conducted an anti-drug rally attended by 200 people including representatives of law enforcement and community service institutions. They also organized a campaign to oust a problem bar within the community that had a history of serving patrons who were intoxicated. The community also held a meeting with the police chief and park commissioners that resulted in keeping the lights on in the city parks all night to help residents monitor illegal activities. Other accomplishments included 16 arrests outside a bar in a single night of drunken drivers. Finally, they succeeded in persuading two area churches to hold alcohol free family activities in the local park every Sunday afternoon.

For more information on Waterloo's Alcohol Abuse program, contact:

Waterloo

612 Mulberry Street

Waterloo, IA 50703

319/233-9920

Project Director: Donna Jones

LAW ENFORCEMENT FOCUSED ON PUBLIC HOUSING COMPLEXES:

In addition to programs aimed at improving neighborhoods, many programs have focused specifically on public housing complexes. Two in particular are the Chicago (Illinois) Housing Authority's (CHA) Operation "Clean Sweep" and the Manchester (New Hampshire) Housing Authority's (MHA) drug and alcohol prevention plan. Each of these programs will be examined below.

Chicago Housing Authority:

One of the most effective drug clean-up efforts on the part of police in an urban area was Operation "Clean Sweep," implemented by the CHA. Based on the premise that the drug problem in public housing stems, not from the residents, but from outside influences, Operation "Clean Sweep" involved the eviction of all non-residents from public housing projects. This was done through the mechanism of Emergency Housekeeping Inspections. The residents are issued photo-identification cards, and the building is secured for twenty-four hours. During this time, all the buildings' common areas, including stairwells, hallways, etc., are searched for drugs and weapons. While the police seek to remove all weapons from the buildings, local housing authority staff thoroughly clean the structures and carryout needed repairs. Special attention is placed on making repairs that enhance residents' feelings of safety and make surveillance of the interior and exterior of building by residents easier. This program costs the CHA $2,880 per unit for a four month period. While this may seem to be expensive, there is a $3,000 per unit saving due to the reduction in vandalism during each four month period. Operation "Clean Sweep" is considered by many public housing officials and residents to be successful. Residents of the Rockwell Gardens Housing Project, in Chicago, have said that the feel safe in their homes as a result of one of these sweeps. This effort has also sought to refer residents with drug problems to treatment programs. Resident abusers are referred to treatment centers and three on-site, out-patient substance abuse centers have opened. In addition, some public housing residents have been trained to be state certified "prevention specialists" who can help residents with their substance abuse problem.

For more information on Operation "Clean Sweep," contact the Chicago Housing Authority at:

The Chicago Housing Authority

Operation "Clean Sweep"

22 West Madison

Chicago, IL 60602

312/791-8500

Manchester Housing Authority:

A second public housing program organized to combat illegal drug activity is operated by the Manchester Housing Authority. The MHA formulated a complete drug and alcohol prevention plan that has had positive and noteworthy effects. A Youth and Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator was hired to work with younger residents developing educational, recreational, and cultural programs in conjunction with city agencies. A community-wide advisory board was also appointed to guide the program's implementation. A series of anti-drug initiatives were then pursued. New screening procedures and new lease provisions were added to prevent habitual criminals from renting public housing units. In addition, a policy was developed such that any individual convicted of a drug related offense is immediately evicted. The residents of MHA units also established a neighborhood watch in cooperation with the local police department. On summer nights, local police officers patrol the public housing areas.

The first resident police officer program was also initiated by the MHA. New officers are hired to live in and secure public housing units. They and their families provide security and positive role models for youths in the project area. A one-on-one study program has been developed for grammar school students that have been identified as being at risk and in need tutorial assistance. The program is called the "Study Buddy Program" and offers a big-brother or big-sister type of role model by providing a child needing help with a high school tutor. School work and social attitudes have improved greatly for children participating in this program. Additional educational opportunities are also offered. These include: first aid, baby-sitting, urban ecology, sexual abuse, AIDS, and teenage pregnancy prevention classes. A special drug awareness program that trains youth to teach other children about drug and alcohol abuse is called "Project TEACH (Teens of Elmwood Against Chemicals and for Health)." Some of their activities include: monthly discussion forums, alternative activities, a Youth Advisory Committee, and the development of a resource library.

The rationale behind this comprehensive plan is to keep criminal offenders from receiving benefits from public housing, offering children positive adult and teenage role models, and teaching necessary skills, such as AIDS prevention, as supplements to the average school's curriculum. While implementation and funding information was not available, the MHA reported annual savings of $24,336 from reduction in vandalism. The MHA drug and alcohol program has dramatically decreased drug abuse and trafficking through its comprehensive approach, using elements of self-improvement, norms of behavior, and sanctions.

For more information on the MHA's drug prevention plan, contact the Manchester Housing Authority at:

The Manchester Housing Authority

Drug Prevention Program

198 Hanover

Manchester, NH 03104

603/624-2100

YOUTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS:

Programs that focus on the alcohol and drug awareness education needs, as well as other human development programs for children and young adults, are important elements of effective substance abuse prevention programs. This section discusses one of the nation's most successful youth-oriented substance

Table 4.1

Drug Involvement - Three Years After Participation in CADA

Control Experimental Reduction

Group Group In Use

Marijuana use within

the previous month 18.1% 8.9% -51%

Cocaine / Crack use within

the previous month 3.7% 1.6% -57%

Any cigarette use within

the previous month 29.3% 16.6% 43%

Month than two alcoholic

drinks at any one time 30.5% 23.7% 22%

abuse prevention programs. The Kansas City-based Corporation Against Drug Abuse (CADA) has developed a very cost effective drug prevention program targeted at the seventh grade (the "Star Program"). This program is especially noteworthy because it appears to be particularly effective in reducing the likelihood of abuse among 7th graders who are highly susceptible to the surface attraction of drug abuse. Table 4.1 shows preliminary data on the results of a program evaluation study of CADA. The control group in the study did not participate in CADA, while the experimental group was active in the program. CADA targets children in high crime areas who are at high risk for becoming involved in substance abuse. Children are categorized by their environment (low or high crime) and their personal susceptibility to substance abuse (low-risk or high-risk behavior). Students at-risk due to substance abuse by parents and who live in high drug traffic areas are given priority regarding admission into the program. The core of the program is school-based. Trainers from the CADA program train local school district teachers on how to effectively lead a drug awareness course during an intensive three-day training period. Teachers are taught to recognize symptoms of substance abuse and to appreciate that addiction is not, among other things, a sign of moral weakness. Teachers also have the option to prepare to be trainers, so that they can assist teachers from neighboring school districts to implement the CADA program without direct involvement from the Kansas City training center.

The core of the teacher's training program can be completed during a standard school day using a curriculum and printed materials developed by the original Kansas City program staff. The teachers' preparation program discusses a wide array of programs that teachers, working with school officials and parents, can develop. They include social coping and parenting workshops for parents, after-school tutoring for youths, drug awareness and cultural programs for children, and a special unit of coping skills is offered to children of substance abusers. Parents are encouraged to participate in these programs through a workbook that they can be used for exercises with their children to support lessons offered in the school based program. The cost of the parents' workbooks is $15 per child.

For high risk youth, those who live in high crime areas or who are easily susceptible to substance abuse, after school and in school bonding programs are stressed. While these programs have been very expensive to implement (approximately $100 per student) they have proven quite effective. The CADA program does not offer training for non-school activities, but stresses that a paid staff is indispensable to the successful development and coordination of such community based programs. The CADA program recommends that a staff of at least a director and a secretary be hired. Programs that link CADA with other, existing, local drug prevention programs are also encouraged.

Community support and participation are indispensable to the success of such programs. Local businesses (perhaps even St. Louis businesses) should be urged to support such school based drug prevention programs. One way to facilitate this process is to organize an "Adopt-A-School" program. In this way, employers are asked to give the assistance that they can, both financially and on a volunteer basis, to support the school based volunteer programs. For example, a trucking business could sponsor an event teaching children about automation, using math and science. Local churches are also encourages to participate. Beside making drug prevention a community issue, churches also have many useful resources that they can make available to community groups at little or no cost. Media coverage of meetings and all programs is important because it can make local residents and business owners aware of the program. A local media committee should be established to insure consistent newspaper, radio, and television coverage.

The school-based program designed by CADA begins in the seventh grade. The first year consists of thirteen sessions. This program is reinforced during the next academic year through five sessions of a "booster" program. During the first two years a school adopts the CADA program, the cost is $15 per student. Afterward, the cost of the program drops to $5. This is a result of the fact that training costs have largely been paid off (interview with Connie Bush). The CADA program staff can be persuaded to begin the "Star Program" with lower grades, if the community and parents feel that it would have a strong impact on younger children.

For more information on CADA's "Star Program," contact:

CADA, Star Program

3917 Minnesota Ave. NE

Washington, DC 20019

202/396-1200

Project Director: Connie Bush

Information about CADA and other programs that they sponsor can be obtained from:

The Corporation Against Drug Abuse

Suite #250

1010 Wisconsin Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20007

202/338-0654

ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS:

Effective community-based drug prevention programs must involve parents as well as children. Anti-drug messages directed at young people will not have their desired effect if the adults of their households do not support these values or if they are drug or alcohol abusers themselves. Parents must be empowered to provide leadership on local drug prevention efforts by increasing their knowledge of chemical dependency, substance abuse, treatment programs, and the recovery process.

The Queens Outreach Program of New York operates a very successful adult education program. It is called the Substance Abuse Ministry (SAM) Program and it has trained over 1,500 parents in the basics of substance abuse and recovery. Local Catholic parishes are asked to recruit neighborhood religious institutions in hosting an eight-week substance abuse program. These local institutions are asked to recruit as large a group of adults from a range of community groups to participate in the eight-week substance abuse program. These institutions also provide a place for the training to occur and offer refreshments, child care, and transportation for the meetings. The Queens Outreach Program provides the trainers who cover the following topics during the eight week program: basic pharmacology, chemical dependency, cycles of addiction, co-dependency and enabling behavior, intervention techniques, alternative treatment methods, the recovery process, and self-help groups. Special attention is placed on identifying possible victims of substance abuse and basic referral techniques. Graduates of this initial substance abuse education program are encouraged to follow-up on the initial training they received with more advanced preparation in the area of "intervention techniques" geared to moving individuals into treatment programs more effectively.

The Queens Outreach Program and the Substance Abuse Ministry can be reached at:

The Queen's County Youth Development

Corporation Outreach House, Inc.

89-15 Woodhaven Boulevard

Woodhaven, Queens NY 11421

718/847-9233

Associate Executive Director: Neil Sheenan

LOCAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS:

Local advertising and public relations firms, in increasing numbers of communities, are beginning to work with local law enforcement, educators, and health practitioners to develop local media campaigns emphasizing anti-drug and alcohol themes as well as the value of chemical free lifestyles. Technical assistance in the design and production of such media-based education campaigns can be secured from the Partnership For a Drug-Free America. Local campaigns should use all forms of media, including: billboards, newspapers, magazines, television, corporate newsletters, church bulletins, and public art. Regionally based corporations, providing goods and services to communities, may be interested in underwriting such a campaign.

Local Substance Abuse Intervention Programs:

Local intervention programs seek to assist "at-risk" individuals with problems associated with daily living prior to drug or alcohol involvement. They also seek to assist drug and alcohol involved individuals in securing appropriate treatment to break the cycle of abuse. Such programs require that these related elements exist, to be successful. First, residents of the community must be trained to identify young people who have a high risk of becoming involved in alcohol or drug use, or who are currently engaged in substance abuse. Second, clinically trained professionals, with experience in working with substance abusers, must be added to the guidance departments of local schools and the personnel departments of local employers to make assessments of individuals referred for help. Third, there must be an adequate substance abuse treatment network and after-care system in place to meet the recovery needs of those who seek help.

TRAINING LOCAL RESIDENT AND CIVIC LEADERS IN INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES:

Individuals who become addicted to alcohol or other drugs often become skillful in hiding their problem from those who may seek to interrupt their continuing substance abuse. Alcoholics and addicts often seek to keep their problem secret from family members, friends, teachers, and employers. As a result of this secrecy, many substance abusers continue their deception over great time, causing great harm to their health, intimate relationships, friends, school activities, or work productivity.

Local intervention programs seek to train community residents and leaders, particularly those who work with youth, to identify individuals who may have become alcohol or drug abusers. These community leaders are given specialized training to enable them to identify behaviors common to those among individuals using drugs. They are taught to be sensitive to abrupt mood or attitude shifts, sudden deterioration in school or work attendance and performance, sudden resistance to discipline, deterioration of personal relationships, increasing lateness, sudden changes in emotional state, increased borrowing of money, and being secretive about actions, possessions or new friends. Once they have observed these behaviors, they are trained in how to approach the family and friends of this individual to confirm their concerns. In the case, where family and friends are actively concerned about the health of a loved one, the community leaders with intervention training may help these concerned parties meet with a certified substance abuse clinician to plan and execute a structured intervention plan to apply maximum pressure on the abuser to seek help. A structured intervention plan involving an abuser's immediate and extended family, close friends, associates, and employers is often a prelude to treatment. At such a meeting, each participant shares with the abuser: 1) their concern and love for the abuser; and 2) a story related to their addicted behavior that have generated concern regarding their loved ones. After the participants have shared these stories, an individual with an extremely close relationship to the abuser asks that they see a professional substance abuse counselor for a clinical assessment and that they enter treatment if recommended. Arrangements are usually made to transport the abuser to a clinic for such an assessment immediately following such a session.

This type of forum is frequently necessary to confront the denial that alcoholics and addicts practice to continue their abuse without assuming full responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Timely intervention can often sharply reduce the time that an individual engages in addictive behavior. This can limit the damage to their health, relationships, finances, and professional status. It can also reduce the time needed for residential or other treatment programs, thus reducing the cost to the individual and to the community.

ESTABLISHING SCHOOL AND WORK-BASED ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS:

Community leaders often work with staff from local school districts to establish a school-based Student Assistance Program modelled after successful work-based Employee Assistance Programs. These programs seek to identify young people experiencing personal problems to refer them to appropriate help when necessary. A local Student Assistance Program would place a clinically trained social worker in each school. This individual would be available to meet with students referred to them. Teachers and other school staff would be trained to identify behaviors indicating that a young person was dealing with a personal, family, school, or a substance abuse related problem. These adults would be trained to approach these students with the goal of getting them to speak with the school-based counselor. Once the student has met with the counselor, an assessment of the student's need would have to be made. In many cases, a future session with the school-based counselor might serve to resolve the problem. In other cases, the young person might be referred to professional care through a local referral agency. School-based counselors, working with school district staff, would be responsible for developing an appropriate referral network. Agencies addressing pregnancy counseling, alcohol addiction, drug addiction, child abuse, eating disorders, and others would be included on the referral list. All treatment would be confidential between the school based counselor and the student. Faculty members making referrals would be told that the student had made it to the counselling office but would not be informed of the exact nature of any treatment being provide to the student.

A similar program should be established for small and intermediate sized businesses. A member of the professional staff of each firm with clinical training would serve as a workplace information counselor. An individual referred by an co-employee or a supervisor would speak to this in-house Employee Assistance Program representative. This person would then refer the individual needing assistance to a local non-profit social service organization with a strong clinical program. This agency would have a contract with participating companies to assess individual employee's problems and refer them for proper assistance. Again, all information concerning treatment would be kept confidential between the treatment staff and the individual receiving help.

Both the Student and Employee Assistance Programs attempt to refer individuals suffering from personal, family, school, or professional problems to the most appropriate source of help. These programs seek to get people into treatment programs before their individual problems have caused severe harm to their health, relationships, finances, and professional status. In this way, the programs attempt to reduce the pain experienced by the individuals, their family, and friends while also trying to reduce the cost the community.

Local Substance Abuse Treatment Programs:

Despite recent increases in funding for drug abuse programs, securing prompt treatment of the appropriate type remains a problem in many communities. Most communities do not have enough treatment spaces given the number of substance abusers. Another problem related to treatment is the appropriateness of available programs. Many of the programs currently serving substance abusers were developed in the early 1960's to treat single, male heroin addicts using somewhat harsh behavior modification techniques. While this approach may work with this particular group, it does not work equally well with other kinds of addiction.

There are several missing links in the service delivery system for alcoholics and drug addicts in most communities.

- First, there is a need for special programs that address the unique problems caused by dual addiction.

- Second, there need to be special programs that address the substance abuse problem of pre-teens, teens, and young adults. These individuals are seldom successfully treated using behavioral modification techniques.

- Third, specific programs are needed to address the problem of addicted mothers. Programs that allow them to be treated while still having access to their children are needed.

- Fourth, consideration must be given to extending the time people spend in treatment. Recent research has shown the existence of a strong relationship between the time in residential treatment and the likelihood of successful recovery.

- Fifth, community-based, after-care, which might include half-way homes and staffed shelters for those in recovery who do not have an alcohol and drug-free environment to return to, needs to be expanded.

- Finally, areas without a rich network of self-help groups modeled on the 12 Step Program of AA should be assisted in developing such a network.

Outline for an Emerson Park Substance Abuse Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment Plan:

The following section presents a preliminary outline for a comprehensive alcohol and drug abuse prevention strategy for the Emerson Park Community. It covers the areas of prevention, intervention, and treatment.

PREVENTION:

- Emerson Park leaders should work with school officials from District 189 to make sure that there is an age and culturally appropriate drug and alcohol awareness program in place in the schools.

- Community-based organizations within Emerson Park should be brought together to sponsor a basic alcohol and drug awareness program for adults in the community.

- Local service organizations should work with local and regional media representative to develop an aggressive alcohol and drug abuse prevention program.

- Alternative activities should be organized for area youth. Particular attention should be given to developing expanded educational, recreational, and cultural programs for area girls, who appear underserved by existing programs. Emphasis should also be given to devising programs for boys who are not athletically oriented.

- Emerson Park civic leaders should work with representatives of the East St. Louis Police Department to put pressure on local retail stores to abide by state laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol and tobacco to minors.

- Emerson Park leaders should establish a close working relationship with the Security Department of the East St. Louis Housing Authority to toughen security at public housing complexes in the area. Particular attention should be given to:

. Sealing abandoned public housing units to prevent them from being used for illegal activities.

. Screening potential tenants to prevent habitual violators of state or Federal laws from securing apartments in public housing projects.

. Quick action to evict local public housing authority tenants who are convicted of drug offenses.

- Steps should also be taken to establish a close working relationship with representative of the East St. Louis Alcohol and Other Drug Task Force to coordinate local, county, State, and Federal law enforcement efforts aimed at reducing illegal drug activity within the community.

INTERVENTION:

- Recruit local churches and civic groups to sponsor an intensive eight week program dealing with intervention strategies and techniques.

- Recruit local parents, teachers, coaches, and tutors to be trained in local intervention strategies and techniques.

- Secure funding from educational and substance abuse programs to hire clinically trained counselors to work on the Student Assistance Program at area schools.

- Work with Student Assistance Program counselors to develop an extensive referral network for local school age children, and their families, needing assistance.

- Assist local employers in developing a work-based Employee Assistance Program. This you involve the following steps:

. Identify small and moderate employers who might be included in such a purpose.

. Bring these employers together to learn about the benefits of such an initiative.

. Develop a funding mechanism using private insurance, employer donations, and public sources to support the establishment of such a program.

TREATMENT:

- Meet with regional and State representatives of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous to discuss support for the establishment of local self-help, 12 step programs within the neighborhood.

- Meet with representatives of the East St. Louis Alcohol and Other Drug Task Force to discuss steps that should be taken to address missing links in the local alcohol and drug abuse services delivery system.

- Once these missing areas have been identified, steps should be taken to speak directly with regional representative of the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services to discuss specific strategies for funding expansions in local services to meet the community needs.

Conclusion:

Without a comprehensive strategy toward dealing with substance abuse, well meaning efforts usually fail. This chapter has presented the three necessary parts to a successful drug and alcohol abuse prevention strategy -- prevention, intervention, and treatment. These steps, along with the implementation of the entire safety plan, can lead to the improvement of Emerson Park.

CHAPTER FIVE - ORGANIZING A NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME WATCH

A. Introduction

B. Establishing a Neighborhood Crime Watch Program

C. Establishing an Event Escort Program

D. Establishing a Neighborhood Crime Patrol

E. Sources of Technical Assistance

F. Conclusion

Introduction:

Community crime prevention programs have proven to be one effective way of reducing criminal activity. Successful crime prevention programs depend on the active cooperation of local residents. Citizens must take steps to secure their own houses through home security measures. They must also become more involved in active surveillance of their neighborhood by reporting suspicious and illegal activities to the local police department. Finally, they must be willing to participate in the judicial process to ensure that arrests result in convictions.

How well citizens cooperate with local law enforcement officials depends on mutual trust and respect. This chapter presents specific proposals for increasing citizen involvement in local crime prevention efforts. The goals of the citizen-based efforts are:

- To reduce the overall crime rate within the Emerson Park area by increasing the number of residents who are involved in prevention activities.

- To increase the percentage of local crimes that are reported to local law enforcement authorities by increasing the level of trust and cooperation between neighborhood leaders and police officials.

- To encourage other neighborhoods to organize their own neighborhood crime watch, following the success of Emerson Park efforts.

To achieve these goals in Emerson Park, three programs should be implemented. These programs are the establishment of a Neighborhood Crim