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October 1990
SAFETY ACTION TEAM
By
Rod Englert
Lieutenant
Multnomah County, Oregon, Sheriff's Department
Throughout the past decade, the City of Portland, Oregon,
once well known for its natural beauty and peacefulness,
experienced a drastic change. Gang violence, fueled by an
increased flow of crack cocaine throughout the area, led to an
astounding rise in crime rates. Turf battles between rival gangs
erupted in once placid neighborhoods.
THE PROBLEM
The housing authority projects throughout the area were
particularly hard hit by the violence and criminal activity.
Specifically, the Columbia Villa Housing Project became notorious
for gang-sponsored violence, drug dealings, and drive-by
shootings. Turf battles ensued as rival gangs sought to dominate
the growing drug trade in the project, and residents of Columbia
Villa found themselves caught in the middle of the turf warfare.
In this environment, crime became a way of life for many.
Children acted as lookouts and runners for the drug dealers; some
even became small-time peddlers. Teens were pressured to join
gangs and commit crimes against other residents as rights of
initiation. Juvenile delinquency thrived. Residents who refused
to join the criminal element often found themselves the victims
of it.
In addition to the crime problem, residents of Columbia
Villa faced a variety of social and economic barriers. Nearly
100 percent of the families in the project lived at or below the
poverty level, with annual family incomes ranging from $2,500 to
$12,000. Many residents lacked high school diplomas and could not
read at a functional level, which severely limited their
employment potential. Other residents suffered chronic or
unattended health problems. Transportation and access to child
care were very limited. Few residents possessed job skills or
experience, and there was a chronic lack of positive role
models.
A VIABLE SOLUTION
In April 1989, the Housing Authority of Portland (HAP)
contracted with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office to provide
police services in Columbia Villa for 1 year. The goals were to:
* Reduce the fear of crime
* Reduce the actual criminal activity in the project, and
* Empower the tenants of Columbia Villa to regain control
by building their self-confidence and self-esteem.
The contract stipulated that HAP would provide office space
for the deputies assigned to Columbia Villa, while the sheriff's
office would assign one lieutenant, three sworn deputies, and two
community services officers (CSOs) to the project. In addition
to an unmarked administrative vehicle, the officers used a
nine-passenger, marked van and one marked patrol car. The office
space for the sheriff's office personnel was located next to the
on-site housing authority manager to facilitate information
sharing.
SAFETY ACTION TEAM
The group assigned to Columbia Villa was named the Safety
Action Team (SAT). Members possessed the necessary professional
and social skills that would enable them to deal effectively with
the complexities that characterized life in Columbia Villa. In
early April 1989, the team went to work to reduce the fear of
crime and to help the residents reclaim their housing
development.
METHODS
The Safety Action Team employs specific methods to stem the
tide of crime. These include:
* ``Walking and Talking''--Each officer and CSO was
responsible for contacting five residents per shift
* Working with the maintenance staff to structure parking
lots with painted lines and registering residents'
vehicles with annual renewable parking decals (only
residents would be allowed to park in the lots)
* Identifying criminal elements, particularly the drug
dealers and gang members; warning them and their
families of eviction for continued criminal activity
* Identifying outsiders who bring problems into the area
and begin enforcing trespass ordinances
* Training residents in crime prevention techniques, such
as situation avoidance, burglary proofing, and
especially, crime reporting
* Identifying truants and transporting them to class, while
encouraging children to stay in school
* Establishing an athletic program, such as the Police
Athletic League (PAL), and recruiting off-duty police
officers or citizens to assist in coaching teams
In addition to these steps, the SAT organized trips for
children to the zoo and other places of interest, made job
placement available to youths, and attempted to create an
atmosphere of safety for the elderly and handicapped by making
the marked police van available to them for transportation to
the hospital, store, or work.
SAT ON PATROL
The unique geographic layout and size of the housing project
presented special problems to the SAT. Since contact with as
many of the residents as possible was a primary goal, and because
crime could occur any place within the 77-acre project, SAT
personnel quickly realized that the success of their program
depended on mobility.
To increase the officers' mobility, two private businesses
and the local Rotary Club donated five mountain bikes and
accessory equipment. The deputies' uniforms were modified to
conform to the needs of cycling, and members of the Bicycle Unit
of the Seattle, Washington, Police Department assisted with the
training. The deputies learned to tackle running suspects from
their bikes, dismount at 25 m.p.h without injury, and ride up and
down stairs. Not only did the bicycles enable the officers to
contact residents more easily, but the use of bicycles also
enhanced the deputies' ability to spot criminal activity. No one
expected an officer to be riding a bike.
RESULTS
During the first 4 months of the program, the deputies
personally contacted 1,752 tenants. Through the SAT's efforts,
75 Columbia Villa residents, including many former gang members,
gained employment in the Portland area.
Deputies transported tenants scheduled for court appearances
to their trials and hearings. Some of the suspects were released
by the court back to the supervision of the SAT. The releases
were conditional, with many of the defendants becoming involved
in cleaning up the parking lots and grounds around their homes.
Pride slowly began to build, and with it, emerged a new
atmosphere in Columbia Villa. Tenants, who were first
apprehensive about visiting the SAT office, began to request help
or offer their assistance. Children began to center activities
around the office and looked to the SAT personnel as new role
models, replacing the drug dealers and gang leaders.
Calls to the Central Dispatch Center became more detailed as
residents of the project took an increased personal interest in
ridding the neighborhood of crime. Soon after the SAT program
was instituted, a noticeable reduction in the fear of crime had
encouraged tenants of Columbia Villa to believe that with their
support, criminal activity could be significantly reduced in the
project.
As media accounts began to tell of the change taking place
in Columbia Villa, the community responded with an outpouring of
support and donations. Church groups in the surrounding areas
contacted the SAT office wanting to know how they could volunteer
their time and efforts. Area businesses provided free of charge
nutritional snacks for the children of the project, fishing
trips, basketball uniforms, tickets to cultural and sporting
events, even a new microwave oven and computer. In essence, the
community got involved.
CONCLUSION
Within the first month of the SAT program, the fear of crime
had been significantly reduced in Columbia Villa. As the fear of
crime diminished, tenants gradually became confident enough to
make detailed calls to the police and sheriff's departments when
criminal activity was observed.
Eventually, through the efforts of the SAT, an atmosphere of
pride began to replace despair in the project. Because of the
mobility of the SAT team and the newly acquired diligence of the
residents, open air drug deals are no longer the norm in the
project. Gang activity diminished as the gangs were denied new
members. Now, the project's youth center activities around the
SAT officers.
The pilot program sparked the interest of other law
enforcement agencies with large housing projects within their
jurisdictions. The success of the SAT program in meeting its
three original goals reducing the fear of crime, reducing
actual criminal activity, and empowering project residents to
reclaim their neighborhood demonstrates how law enforcement can
take a lead role in reversing the tide of crime.