2 28 11 SCTF Work Session_SCTF Post NIU Recommendations MVM Memo
February 9, 2011
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Kelly Larson, Human Rights Director
SUBJECT: Safe Community Task Force Recommendations Post-NIU Study
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memorandum is to forward to you the third set of recommendations
from the Safe Community Task Force to present to the City Council. The Task Force
created these recommendations to implement the findings of the 2010 Crime & Poverty
Research Study performed by the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental
Studies.
BACKGROUND
On September 17, 2009, Mayor Roy Buol and the City Council hosted a community
forum that was attended by more than 130 residents. The purpose of this forum was to
initiate an open dialogue on crime issues in our community and how, as a community,
we could address them. After such a high response to the open dialogue, the Mayor
and City Council appointed 25 citizen volunteers to a “Safe Community Task Force” in
October.
This group of diverse volunteers was asked to holistically look at both the causes of,
and solutions to, crime in Dubuque. The group was tasked with gathering facts about
the scope of the crime problems, focus on identifying efforts that are already underway
to improve and prevent future problems, review and analyze how other communities
have addressed this issue and recommend goals and objectives for the leadership of
Dubuque. Beyond the 25 appointed members, the Safe Community Task Force utilized
sub-committees and work groups to get all interested parties involved, and submit
recommendations to the City Council for further action.
The sub-committees were:
Neighborhood engagement/social capital,
Enforcement,
Management of physical environment, and
Research and facts.
In February 2010, Urban Strategies from St. Louis, MO was hired to facilitate the Safe
Community Task Force meetings and aid in guiding the appointed group through the
recommendation process. The Task Force submitted their first set of recommendations
in February 2010 and their second set in July 2010. These recommendations were
received by the Council and are in various stages of review and implementation.
One of the initial recommendations from the Task Force was to conduct an expanded
crime study to include:
Comparisons with like communities.
A longitudinal study of changes in crime rates.
Multivariate study of arrest records.
Comparison of actual crime profile in Dubuque with public perception.
Contextualizing research findings within current criminology and policy literature.
Evidence-based recommendations for effective policy and programming related to
crime prevention and community safety.
After issuing a request for proposals, reviewing proposals received, and conducting
interviews, the Safe Community Task Force recommended that Northern Illinois
University Center for Governmental Studies be selected to conduct the study. The
Council approved a contract with NIU in May 2010, and NIU began work on the study.
On January 25, after many months of work including review and analysis of over
350,000 records, NIU presented the final results of the study at a meeting of the Task
Force that was televised on City Cable Channel 8.
On February 5, the Task Force held a four hour worksession to begin forming
recommendations to the Council in response to the research results. On February 8,
the Task Force finalized their recommendations, which are detailed below.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Safe Community Task Force re-affirms the prior recommendations forwarded to the
City Council, with the following revisions and additions based on the NIU study:
Juveniles
1) Modify the recommendation for a juvenile curfew ordinance and focus instead on
creating a parental responsibility ordinance that is modeled after successful
programs that includes engaging parents and teens in prevention efforts.
2) Encourage and engage parents and youth in out-of-school-time programs and
parenting classes by ensuring the programs are designed to matter to the
participants.
3) Encourage the Dubuque Community School District to develop a meaningful
intercultural competence program for students at all levels.
Community Education
1) Create a conduit, such as a speakers’ bureau, to continue conveying accurate
information to the public on crime and the perception of crime in the community.
Include a broad group of informed residents on the panel and focus on reaching a
broad cross-section of the community with the information.
2) Use the information from the crime & poverty study to create a formal way to
continue tracking data for the community in an ongoing manner, and investigate the
potential for using crime mapping software.
3) Encourage the TH to run an “I’m a Dubuquer” series.
4) Raise awareness amongst the general public and develop individual ambassadors
through Intercultural Competence training, the Bridges Initiative, and similar
programs, who can then talk with others about what they have learned.
Social Capital/Volunteerism
1) Expand the recommendation for a neighborhood watch program to include efforts to
build relationships amongst residents within the neighborhood.
2) Expand the emphasis on community oriented policing and consider expanding the
number of non-sworn employees, including interns and volunteers, in the police
department in effort to assist with COP efforts and to coordinate with other
departments and organizations in the community policing effort.
3) Engage community volunteers of various races and income levels in a monthly
“Days of Caring” initiative by encouraging businesses to allow volunteers to
participate on work time.
4) As exterior code violations are identified in neighborhoods, identify volunteers who
are willing to assist with helping property owners remedy those violations, which will
address the property conditions while also building relationships and a sense of
community.
5) Encourage community-wide support of initiatives that support self-sufficiency (i.e.,
beyond government and the public schools), with a particular focus on existing
programs: Circles, Project HOPE, Intercultural Competence Training, Every
Child/Every Promise, and the work that the Colts are doing with community
outreach. Engage colleges, churches, businesses.
6) Support economic development efforts to create opportunities.
7) Connect new residents, particularly those who may not be referred by an employer,
to the welcoming program at the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation.
Section 8 Program
1) Challenge all departments within the City to develop and maintain a model Section 8
program for a city of this size, meeting the needs of the elderly and disabled and
also developing self-sufficiency for families.
Enforcement
1) Expand the lighting recommendation to “Brighten up the streets and alleys at night
and increase visibility for residents wherever lights are needed.”
2) Emphasize hot-spot policing and focus on problem solving within those crime
hotspots.
3) Publicize the owners, numbers and types of complaints/violations in the top problem
properties.
ACTION REQUESTED
The action requested is that these recommendations be forwarded to the City Council.
cc: Phyllis Russell, Management Fellow