New Initiatives, Free Resources Help Law Enforcement in Grim Economic Times

Faced with shrinking budgets and, in some places, rising crime, communities are turning to NCPC’s free resources for help.

By Marsha Hott, NCPC Staff

It seems there is no escaping the continuous “bad news” about the economic downturn and its impact on crime—which is rising in some parts of the country. Forty-two percent of 124 respondents participating in a survey of the U.S. Conference of Mayors reported that cities are seeing increased crime as a result of current economic conditions. Similarly 44 percent of law enforcement personnel responding to a Police Executive Research Forum survey reported increases in crime levels that they believe are connected to the economy, with the most significant increases being in property crime.

If you are a law enforcement executive, you have probably been faced with current and projected budget cuts. If you are a law enforcement officer you may have experienced changes in the communities you serve. If you’re a crime prevention practitioner, you are probably frustrated by the reduced resources available to help you and your local law enforcement agency prevent crime in your community.

Now, more than ever, law enforcement agencies need to rely on free materials and resources to help them get the job done. In response to this need, the National Crime Prevention Council is offering new, free resources that can help law enforcement agencies address emerging crime problems. These resources include new materials designed to complement its Rapid Response Initiative, which was supported by a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. They include a series of palm cards, fliers, and posters that complement 60-second radio public service ads released earlier this year on current crime trends. The Rapid Response Initiative is intended to provide information to the public after an incident of crime and thereby help law enforcement keep any reaction under control. The Rapid Response tools can help address both personal and property crime issues—including crimes against seniors, burglary, home invasions, theft, school violence, and more.

According to NCPC Communications Director Michelle Boykins, the Rapid Response Initiative can help citizens not only feel safer but have confidence in the fact that despite incidents of crime, their law enforcement agency is committed to their safety and to uniting resources, both locally and nationally, to help create safer communities. “NCPC has a long history of helping citizens and law enforcement work together to resolve crime problems in the community,” she said. “This initiative helps bring crime prevention together at three levels—residents who need safety information, free crime prevention resources for law enforcement, and a vehicle for the media to help spread the crime prevention word.”

Law enforcement agencies like the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) are using NCPC’s complimentary resources to address emerging public safety issues. In response to increasing and often violent attacks on older citizens, the PPD partnered with NCPC to launch a Safer Seniors public education and outreach campaign. Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey and Deputy Commissioner Charlotte A. Council gathered crime prevention officers and Crimes Against the Elderly, or CARE, investigators at a press conference in December 2008. Then the department alerted the Philadelphia community to the problem, the patterns of the problem, and the department’s strategies to address the problem. NCPC provided a train-the-trainer program and resources to the PPD officers and investigators, which, in turn, better prepared them to provide crime prevention tips, training, and resources to citizens.

Since the launch, the PPD has completed more than 20 training programs, placed more than 200 posters in community and senior centers, provided direct safety information and training to 900 residents, and distributed more than 5,000 cobranded tips brochures and fliers. Though the PPD has recently launched a second public education campaign in response to increasing burglaries in the area, its crime prevention officers continue to receive calls for information and training on senior safety.

These tools are designed to support and encourage police-community partnerships and to support the integration of crime prevention into local policy and programmatic efforts. As stated by Commissioner Ramsey, “I continually look for partnerships that can benefit the residents, the businesses, and the city in which I serve. In the face of budget cuts and emerging crime problems in Philadelphia, NCPC has been an important resource for our agency and for the safety of our city.”

To take advantage of NCPC’s free resources, check out these downloadable PSAs and PDF files. Next month NCPC will post seven new radio messages and Spanish language versions of the print resources.

For more information on how to plan and implement media and outreach campaigns or how to strategically use these tools to address local crime problems, call Michelle Boykins at 202-261-4184 or Marsha Hott at 202-261-4167.