READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN APRIL 2006 READING CRIME

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN APRIL 2006

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN CHANGING and FOCUSING • Strategy • Structure • Systems On CRIME REDUCTION

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Need Involvement from All Concerned Citizens Plans include: Prevention Visibility Enforcement Accountability Education

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Objectives: • • Increase police enforcement at every level. Insure the timely delivery of police services. Make the police more visible. Prevent, deter, or solve crimes and incidents at the patrol level more frequently. • Refocus specialty units and outside agencies on supporting efforts of the patrol officers. • Identify persons and properties causing recurring problems more quickly and devise plans of actions to abate their impact on the community. • Engage the community in crime and disorder reduction efforts.

Crime is Concentrated Offenders account for 55% of crimes. Victims account for 42% of victimization. Locations account for 60% of the police calls for service.

fen Of tim Vic de r Crime Triangle Location

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN One of the police officer’s objectives should be to eliminate at least one of the elements of the crime triangle each and every day, over and over again, by employing crime fighting strategies. OFFENDER LOCATION VICTIM

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN What works? • Increased directed patrol • Proactive field interviews and investigations • Aggressive and continuous investigations of serious crime • Proactive traffic enforcement • Dealing with community priorities • Low tolerance of disorder and quality of life issues -(Broken Windows Policing) • Courteous and professional police response (from research of Dr. Lawrence Sherman and Dr. George Kelling)

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Less Effective Strategies? • Unfocused community policing initiatives • Random patrols • Neighborhood Crime Watch programs that lack police interaction and only organize around crime issues. • Response to ‘interest groups’ rather than the community • Incident driven, rapid response strategies

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS) • • WHAT WE NEED FROM OFFICERS Ownership of Police Patrol Districts Problem- Solving Plans and Actions Crime Prevention Techniques Tailored for Each Neighborhood

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Patrol Officers • Officers will adopt low tolerance enforcement policies on all violations, especially quality of life violations. • Arrests and citations will be necessary to stop, identify, and charge persons. Those that don’t respond to summonses and citations will get warrants issued against them. • These warrants will be an additional tool to take action to remove part of the crime triangle. • Officers will concentrate on known suspects and problem persons, hot spot locations, and problem properties, such as houses where police are frequently called to quell disturbances and bars where incidents frequently occur inside and/or outside the premises.

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Patrol Officers Every Case is a Big Case • Don’t always be looking for the “big” arrest and forsake the “little” ones. • All arrests, including citations for nuisance crimes, help to deter crime and slow predator activity. • Disrupting the business of the drug trade and other criminal enterprises is an effective crime suppression method. • If crime doesn’t pay well in Reading and the risk of continuing illicit activity is high, criminals will move on.

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Patrol Emphasis on: • Quality of Life Enforcement – increase the ratio of citations to warnings. • Problem solving – Evictions, Problem Bars, Problem People, Interrupt Drug Trade, Make Positive Contacts with people. • Hot Spot Policing – Maintain high visibility in problem areas.

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Steps Include: 1. Making crime and disorder reduction the central focus of the police department and increasing communication and accountability at every level of the department. 2. Imparting responsibility for crime and disorder abatement to teams of patrol officers, investigators, and supervisors working in specific geographical areas. 3. Empowering police officers to take action without unnecessary bureaucratic interference.

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Steps Include: 4. Identifying specific locations and persons who account for a disproportionate amount of police attention, either by repeat calls for service or by acts of crime and disorder. 5. Using problem-solving skills to eradicate, diminish, mitigate, and move problems from neighborhoods. 6. Partnering with a large number of organizations, agencies, and citizens to set priorities and increase the network of active crime-fighters.

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Steps Include: 7. Fostering better police-community relations by creating a shared vision for safety and security, providing education and training, and constantly engaging in dialogue to identify problems and challenges and possible solutions. 8. Maximizing the percentage of police officers actively engaged in street level crime and reduction activities.

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Steps Include: 9. Applying technology to make downtown Reading and neighborhoods a harder target for criminals. 10. Increasing resources by seeking non-traditional funding, such as alliances with the business community, neighborhood associations, private foundations, and other government entities.

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Management and Supervision • City is divided into Quadrants • A Platoon Lieutenant is responsible for crime and disorder abatement in one assigned quadrant • Through periodic crime status meetings commanders also become more aware of crime trends the in entire city. • The number of Patrol Districts expanded to 14 for more visibility and coverage

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Criminal Investigators VIPER – Violent and Pattern Crime Reduction • Consists of a team of criminal investigators, vice detectives and patrol officers who will specifically target the violent criminals who commit crime after crime. • Will alter their hours and tactics as necessary. • Will use crime analysis and intelligence information to determine targets. • Will be more proactive instead of waiting for crimes to occur.

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Our strategy is the best of: TRADITIONAL POLICING • Directed patrol • Hot spot policing • Low tolerance • Field interviews/contacts • Criminal investigation by Patrol and CID COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING • Problem solving • Crime prevention • Community partnerships

Examples of Problem-Solving Rental House - Used a variety of nuisance laws against tenants. Also evicted through back rent and destruction of property. Speakeasy - In addition to issuing citations, officer called Philly landlord at 4: 00 AM several times after witnessing noise and disorder coming from property. Quick eviction after the phone calls. Mini Mart - High call load due to fights, curfew, thefts, loitering, etc. . Calls reduced as a result of increased signage, lighting, cameras, removal of pay phone.

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Public Safety Advisory Committee • An umbrella advisory group to study and research crime and disorder issues. • Advise Mayor and police department and help involve all facets of the community. • Reviews and advises on city crime reduction plans and initiatives.

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN TECHNOLOGY CAMERAS • Design and implement a camera safety system in downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. • Provide paid and volunteer monitoring center • Equip officers with cell phones with direct connect capabilities to safety center.

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN Best Practices in Law Enforcement Public Safety Research Coalition ALBRIGHT ALVERNIA KUTZTOWN PENN STATE READING AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN How do we judge success? At the basic level: solve or prevent one problem or crime at a time In a broad scope: reduction of crime and disorder safer community

READING CRIME REDUCTION PLAN YOUR COOPERATION AND SUPPORT ARE NEEDED FOR SUCCESS!