EXAMPLES OF PROBLEM SOLVING IN COMMUNITY

POLICING AGENCIES
I. Brownwood Colorado: Disorderly House

In this town of 20,000, a residential house known as "Cozette's" was the focal point
for fights, shootings, stabbings, narcotics sales, and illegal gambling. Prostitution,
fencing of stolen property, and unlicensed alcohol sales also took place in this
"family" home located in a largely residential neighborhood. The yard served
as a landfill, junkyard, and open restroom. Despite a few arrests, "traditional"
enforcement approaches were not working. Arrests were made even harder to
come by due to the constant presence of lookouts.

Local officials tried a broader approach to the problem and called a meeting of
various city and county agencies. The police furnished written reports on past
incidents at Cozette's. The fire department conducted two detailed inspections of
the premises and compiled a lengthy list of code violations. City housing officials
and electrical inspectors went to the house with police assistance and listed
various code violations. Undercover officers cited various violations regarding the
serving of food
on-premises. Checks of legal documents were made to identify the actual owner of
the house.

The local district attorney's office then called all of the involved agencies together,
compiled a formal listing of the criminal and regulatory violations, discovered, and
filed public nuisance papers on the owner of the property. The District Attorney
asked for a permanent injunction through the District Court and alleged that "the
property constituted a common nuisance detrimental to the health, life, and
property of all citizens in the city of Brownwood." After several months of legal
wrangling the court granted the injunction and the city moved to condemn the
property. Because of all the pressure brought to bear on the owner, she agreed to
tear the entire property down. Cozette's ceased to exist as a police problem.

II. Edmonton Alberta: Prostitution

Prostitutes had begun to work the street in front of the "Scattered Leaves"
apartment building. Constable Mike Crustolot invested the time to count the
number of vehicles whose drivers were stopping to speak with the women.
Because of the traffic volume and patterns, the street in question was made one-
way, and the prostitutes moved elsewhere.

III. Santa Anna, California Crack House

A vacant apartment had become a haven for narcotic users and prostitutes. The
owner had shown no interest in renting it and bad allowed it to deteriorate to the
point that it created a threat to the health of the other tenants. After inspecting and
citing the location for numerous violations, Officers Debbie Reyes and Tony
Duncan contacted the owner and described to him how they could petition the
State Franchise Tax Board to take away the tax benefits he received through
depreciation of the property. The following day the owner had the entire building
cleaned and boarded up.
IV. Denver Colorado: Sex in the Park

The Denver Police Department is implementing the problem-solving concepts of

Community Oriented Problem Solving (COPS) in attempting to solve a long
running problem of "sex in the bushes" in Denver's Chessman Park. Responding to
complaints from the park's neighbors about "naked people" in the bordering hedge
rows, Denver Police Department's community resource officers have been working
with the city's parks department to make the parks a less-hospitable place for such
liaisons. The strategy includes a new automated sprinkling system set to water
during evening hours. Additional lighting as a possibility, and the trimming of trees
and shrubs around secluded spots. The planting of "abrasive plants" is also under
consideration. Denver Police Department refers to the strategy as "crime
prevention through environmental design."

V. Reno Nevada: Special Tax District

As a result of a successful foot patrol program, casino and business owners

worked with the police department to develop legislation allowing the downtown
business owners to create a special tax district. The special tax district allows
business owners to pay for new officer positions that would be allocated specifically
for the downtown area. The law was passed in the last legislature and planning for
as many as 28 new officer positions was discussed and implemented.

VI. Gainesville Florida Convenience Store Robberies

Pat Callahan of the Gainesville (FL) Police Department recognized that

convenience store robberies in that city were a common occurrence. Of the 47
convenience stores located there, 45 had been robbed at least once in five years.
While convenience stores made up only three percent of the business
establishments in Gainesville, they accounted for 50 percent of the commercial
robberies. Although the amount of cash taken in these robberies was often small,
the cost to the community was significant. It included injuries to innocent
bystanders and employees and a significant expenditure of police resources used
to investigate these crimes.

Callahan examined the physical environment around these convenience stores,

the personnel practices of the establishments, the staffing patterns of the stores,
and ordinances in other cities designed to address the problem of convenience
store robberies. He found that 75 percent of the robberies occurred between 7:00
P.M. and 5:00 A.M. In 92 percent of the robberies, only one clerk was present. He
determined that personnel staffing policies and environment factors contributed to
the convenience store robbery problem in Gainesville.

The Gainesville Police Department pushed for a local ordinance mandating specific
crime prevention measures for convenience stores. The proposed ordinance
requires that:
 Two or more employees work between 8:00 P.M. and 4:00 A.M.
 A maximum of only $60.00 be kept in the register
 A drop safe be installed in the floor
 Visual obstructions be removed from the store windows
 Parking lots be well lit
 All store employees be trained in robbery prevention
 Operational robbery detection cameras be installed and used

The local ordinance was enacted in 1986. Between 1986 and 1990, convenience
store robberies in Gainesville decreased 89 percent. Apprehension of convenience
store robbers increased during this same period from 29 percent to 81 percent. In
Tallahassee, which is similar is size to Gainesville and is located nearby,
convenience store robberies had a large and steady increase during the same time
period.

Between 1981 and 1986, prior to the ordinance, Gainesville convenience store
employees sustained 18 injuries as a result of robberies. Since 1986, no injuries
have occurred.

VII. Reno Nevada: Homeless Coalition

Reno has a permanent population of an estimated 200 to 300 "hardcore"

transients. Two major social service agencies are located downtown. Daily they
draw a large crowd of homeless and transients resulting in continual complaints
from downtown merchants. The police, the downtown property owners association,
and social service agencies have dealt with the problem independently in the past.

A Homeless Coalition, consisting of downtown property owners, members of city

government, social service agencies, hospitals and the police was formed to deal
with this concern. A permanent facility outside the downtown area has been
planned. The facility will be funded by contributions from downtown businesses and
the combined sale of social service properties in the downtown area.

Police have also net-worked with the hospitals and detoxification centers to ensure
there is a consistent approach to dealing with the problem. Enforcement has taken
a back seat to planning and problem solving.

VIII. Reno's Landlord Education Program

Several apartment complexes in Northeast Reno were plagued with tenants

trafficking drugs. Many of the tenants were receiving HUD (Urban Housing
Development) assistance to live in the complex. Previous enforcement efforts had
been unsuccessful. Police organized meetings with the representatives of the
District Attorney's Office, land-lord tenant affairs and apartment complex owners. It
was evident that the landlords did not know their rights and were concerned that
any attempts toward eviction would result in lawsuits and claims of harassment.
They were concerned about the deterioration of the properties due to the influx of
drugs and prostitution but did not know how to deal with the problem.

In reviewing the alternatives, participants discovered that HUD (Urban Housing

Development) had strict regulations for applicants receiving aid. Many of the
people suspected of drug sales were in violation of these guidelines. An eviction
program was developed and in a cooperative effort with all concerned, eleven
individuals were evicted. Some will not be eligible to reapply for HUD (Urban
Housing Development) funding.
IX. Tempe Arizona Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)

Proper design and the effective use of the environment can lead to a reduction in
the incidence and fear of crime in a neighborhood, according to Sergeant Al Taylor
of the Tempe (AZ) Police Department. Taylor uses the principles of Crime
Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED).

Taylor says that when doing problem-solving, officers, as part of their analysis,
should examine whether the physical environment contributes to the problem they
are working to address. If it does, the principles of CPTED may be useful in
developing an effective response to the problem.

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) recognizes that there

are four key qualities necessary for a secure environment. These four qualities are:
 Natural Surveillance
 Access Control
 Territoriality
 Activity Support

The first, "natural surveillance," is based on the fact that most criminals do not want
to be observed while committing crimes. Areas should be designed to allow plenty
of opportunity for community residents to observe the space around them.

The second concept is "access control." Criminal intruders will often try to gain
entrance to areas where they will not be observed. Limiting access can keep them
out altogether.
The third concept is "territoriality." It is based on the belief that people take more
interest in something they own. A person who has a vested interest in an area is
more likely to challenge intruders or report them to the police. In an environment
that has a sense of owned space; outsiders stand out and are more easily
identified.

The final concept is "activity support." This involves choosing the location of an
activity so that it invites members of the community to become part of the natural
surveillance system and thereby create a secure environment.

The Tempe Police Department used the Crime Prevention through Environmental
Design (CPTED) philosophy to remedy a juvenile loitering problem in a local
business area. Business owners began playing classical music over loudspeakers
outside of their establishments. Several juveniles were interviewed by a local
newspaper reporter. One youth commented that the music was "irritating" and "if it
continued, they were not coming back." The music continued and the youths no
longer congregated there.

In another business area, pay phones were being used by drug dealers to transact
business. Using Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)
concepts, business owners installed rotary phones instead of push-button phones.
As a result, drug dealers could no longer access personal pagers via these
phones.
Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) has also been used to
successfully resolve other serious crimes. At a local Tempe library, several sexual
assaults of children occurred near the library’s bathrooms. When crime prevention
officers looked at the facility, they made several recommendations including
relocating the pay phones away from the restrooms.

Relocating the phones was suggested because it was determined that the
offenders waited unnoticed by the phones for the victims and were using the
phones as natural cover for their activities. In addition, a second library book check
out desk was positioned near the restrooms so check-out employees would notice
anyone loitering nearby.

(Handout for Problem Solving)