RYASAP
|
|
|
Safe Homes:
The Safe Homes component of the Safe Neighborhoods AmeriCorps Program
SNAP’s
Safe Homes component trains Members to provide elderly, physically
challenged and other needy residents with home security assessments and
installations to reduce burglary and property loss by making the home a more
difficult target. Safe Homes
Members receive extensive training from the Bridgeport Police
Department, Bridgeport Fire Department and local licensed contractors to prepare
them for their service. The installation of security hardware and
replacement of at-risk or defective hardware, as well as heightening
residents’ awareness of personal safety have greatly helped diminish home
robberies and larceny of property stored on the premises.
To date, more than 1,976 home security inspections and 1,757 home
security installations have been conducted at no charge to residents in the
targeted high-risk neighborhoods. Recipient
satisfaction has been high--100% of clients surveyed reported that they feel
safer as a result of the service. The Bridgeport Police Department has attributed much of the
60% reduction in crime-related break-ins, burglaries, larceny and robberies to
residences in the target areas to its collaboration with SNAP.
Of nearly 1,500 residences recently listed in the police crime report of
the targeted areas, there has been only one instance of an attempted burglary in
a home that had received security assessment and installation from Safe Homes—an impressive track record for the program. Over the past 5 years, SNAP and the Bridgeport Police Department have also actively collaborated in developing and implementing crime prevention programs aimed at strengthening neighborhoods through physical improvements. SNAP Members have teamed up in groups of residents, jail inmates, volunteers, and police officers to board up abandoned houses, clean up vacant lots, and remove graffiti Removal of debilitating trash, eyesores, and enhancement of the landscape in the targeted areas have had the effect of uplifting residents and reducing fear, and significantly impacting crime reduction and increasing the capacity of Bridgeport neighborhoods to resist crime and restore civic vitality. In the Final Evaluation Report of Connecticut AmeriCorps State 1997-98 conducted for the National and Community Service of the State of Connecticut Department of Higher Education (Final Evaluation Report of Connecticut AmeriCorps*State 1997-1998, released December 1998), SNAP ranked high. In evaluating the Safe Homes program, Marta Elisa Moret, MPH, Urban Policy Strategies, cited the compelling evidence that the program works and is cost-effective. She emphasized the clear link between the intervention designed and implemented by the collaboration—and the outcomes—i.e., reduction in crime for the targeted neighborhoods. According to Moret’s evaluation, SNAP is one of the few AmeriCorps programs that can point to measurable outcomes in the direct impact in reducing crime. Crime-Free Multi-Housing
WHAT
IS THE WHERE IT BEGAN The CRIME FREE MULTI-HOUSING PROGRAM began in Mesa, Arizona in July 1992. It has spread across the United States and to Canada in a very short time. It was designed to be law enforcement driven. HOW IT WORKS The CRIME FREE MULTI-HOUSING PROGRAM is a unique, three-phase certification program for rental properties of all sizes, including single family rental homes. The first phase is the completion of an eight-hour program taught by attorneys, police and fire personnel. Frequently, guest speakers will also attend to address specific topics relating to rental properties. This police-sponsored program is designed to be very easy, yet extremely effective, at reducing criminal activity in rental properties. The CRIME FREE MULTI-HOUSING PROGRAM addresses these topics:
Typically, the CRIME FREE MULTI-HOUSING PROGRAM is taught during a single eight-hour day. Some police agencies will sponsor two four-hour training sessions. The program is designed to be flexible, as many communities have differing needs.
|
