Community Safety

Many neighborhoods face serious gang-related violence and, often in the same neighborhood, the return to the community of large numbers of former prisoners. Aggressive policing is only part of the answer, communities say. A comprehensive approach includes (a) Training, promotion and advocacy to improve police-community relations so that enforcement activity is fair and effective, (b) Gang intervention at the street level, (c) Comprehensive supportive services for ex-offenders including the basics of housing, food and job placement to avoid a return to criminal activity, and (d) Alcohol and drug addiction services.

Purposefully combining community building and crime prevention strategies can lead to safer communities.  The tools in this section presents specific examples of community organizations and police departments working together to reduce crime and revitalize neighborhoods.  

Handbooks & Manuals

Practitioner Templates

Training Materials

Other Resources

• LISC's Community Safety Intiative (CSI).  No neighborhood plagued by crime and disorder problems will be attractive to residents or merchants. Indeed, addressing those issues is as critical to successful community development as making sure people have affordable housing, good schools, recreational areas, jobs and health care. CSI helps to establish partnerships among law enforcement, residents, business owners and members of other neighborhood institutions. Since 1994, CSI has helped establish police/community partnerships in over a dozen cities nationwide.  http://www.lisc.org/section/ourwork/national/safety