Safe & Sound Community Partners: Mid-Year 2008 Accomplishments
Strategic planning in January and continued meetings with our community stakeholders has led to significant accomplishments towards Safe & Sound goals and outcomes already this year.
The anti-crime community organizing activities seek to make face-to-face contact with 6,400 residents, 800 resource referrals, and 400 reports of resident complaints of crime issues to law-enforcement during 2008. Additionally, 800 housing and exterior nuisance code violation warnings and 10 community clean-up or beautification events were to be conducted. The intended agency outcomes of these methods is to raise community awareness of crime issues and services that address crime, while developing active residents and block watches and moreover, a clean neighborhood with safe and well maintained housing. These correlate with the City of Milwaukee Community Development Grants Administration long term outcomes of reducing crime, increasing property values and improving the quality of life.
The efforts of Safe & Sound nine Community Partners to achieve these outcomes since January 2008 are numerous. As of June 1st, personal face-to-face contacts on Milwaukee porches totaled 3,716, with 51,217 pieces of resource and anti-crime literature distributed in the process. Other resident contacts, such as letters, phone calls, and e-mails totaled 446. Block club contacts amounted to 496 and 9 new block clubs were formed as a result of these efforts. Also, 644 resident resource referrals have been made, while 261 reports of resident complaints of illegal activity were addressed with the Milwaukee Police Department, Community Prosecutors, and the Sheriff’s Department through 1456 law-enforcement contacts.
In regards to housing and blight, 443 housing code violation warnings and 244 exterior blight nuisance warnings were issued. Letters and a copy of the posted warnings were sent to the property owners along with resource information intended to enable owners to better address the problems cited. 41 community clean-ups and beautification events with 1302 participants gathered 1009 bags of garbage, while others removed graffiti or posted alley identification numbers, logging 1906 community service hours by residents, volunteer groups and offenders with court ordered hours. Other community meetings and events brought the total to 202 for Safe & Sound. These meetings and events were of a collaborative nature made possible with 1231 contacts with Safe & Sound Safe Places, community- and faith-based organizations and 670 meetings.
Cumulatively these efforts work towards the long term goals of reducing crime, increasing property values and improving neighborhood quality of life. The year-end measurements that will be used to substantiate progress come from a reduction in the number of group A criminal offenses as noted by the Wisconsin Incident Based Report and an increase in property values as determined by the City of Milwaukee COMPASS data, which are published every year. Moreover, supplementary data is being gathered in police districts across the city through outreach efforts inquiring on resident’s perceptions, attitudes and willingness to be involved. Together this information will provide a comprehensive picture of progress towards the goals and outcomes.
