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POMONA. Weed & Seed Program Evaluation. CSU Pomona Master’s of Public Administration/ Political Science. December 1, 2005. “The Team” Pre-Test Phase Program Implementation Post-Test Phase. Weed & Seed Program Evaluation. What issues were the focus of the evaluation? Law Enforcement
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Weed & Seed Program Evaluation CSU Pomona Master’s of Public Administration/ Political Science December 1, 2005
“The Team” Pre-Test Phase Program Implementation Post-Test Phase Weed & Seed Program Evaluation
What issues were the focus of the evaluation? Law Enforcement Community Policing Prevention – Intervention – Treatment Neighborhood Restoration Weed and Seed Strategy
Evaluation Reinforced Some Assumptions New Issues Emerged Differences among the districts Useful for implementation Evaluation Overview
Current Operations and Environment Pomona Police Department Patrol Division Records Division
Strengths Officers work well as a team Familiarity with assigned neighborhood Information sharing Challenges Residents hesitancy to talk with police Cultural & language barriers Shortage of officers Patrol Division
Possible effects of Weed & Seed Bottleneck of the adjudication process Potential delay in calls for service Hindrance to the patrol process Survey Analysis Residents feelings toward their neighborhood Patrol Division
Records Division Function • Records Management System • State Criminal Justice databases • Report Statistics to DOJ & State
Strengths Manager Judy Ramsey Staff Challenges Cumbersome paper system Backlog Employee retention Lack of resources Potential effect of weeding Records Division
Federal vs. Local FOCUS GROUP
Ways the Weed and Seed Committee intended to measure Success • Reducing Crimes • Establishing or improving after-school programs • Integrating social services and delivery of those services • Employment of more youth in an effort to increase their participation in the community, and • Empowering residents by encouraging them to cooperate with each other and participate in the improvement of their community’s quality of life. Also a renewed focus on the literacy of youth and residents is a program goal.
Areas of agreement: Presence of gangs Lack of youth programs Cultural barriers and the need for the assimilation of new immigrants into the community, and Lack of trust between residents and the City’s Police Department Elite Interviews
Differences among Committee members: Residents lack of education Concerns about the influence of unelected representatives on programs and policies, and The impact of old and perhaps outdated, infrastructure in the City Elite Interviews – Differences and Challenges
Analysis suggested four (4) models that the Weed and Seed Program should focus on: 1. High Blight = High Crime: focus resources on physical restoration of the area 2. Youth Development = New City: focus resources on serving young children and youth, making a positive impact on their future Models for Success of the Weed and Seed Program
Diversity…A Gap Breaker: Focus on gaining a better understanding of immigrant and non-immigrant issues and work to resolve them. Community Policing: The Pomona Police Department should focus on fostering positive community relations, particularly with the Spanish-speaking community of the target area, in a effort to gain their trust. Models For Success (cont’d)
Trends in Robbery Arrests for the City of Pomona from 1997-2003: Citywide and Juveniles
Juvenile Burglary Arrests (cont…) • City Wide-Not Significant • Juvenile-Significant
Burglary Arrests: Adults and Juveniles • Compare w/ 1997-2003 • not significant • Compare w/ 1997-2003 • Declining pattern
Auto Theft Arrests: Adults and Juvenile • Compare w/ 1997-2003 • increasing pattern • Compare w/ 1997-2003 • decreasing pattern
Juvenile Drug Arrests • Compare w/ 1997-2003 • decreasing pattern of felony drug crimes
The Weed & Seed districts report higher incidence of crimes in the following categories: Homicides Rapes Robbery Assaults Burglary Larceny Auto theft District Data
Actual Arrests in the Weed & Seed Districts almost tripled as compared to the Typical districts. District 84 reports more crime than Districts 83 and 87. -District 84 residents are twice as likely to report assaults. District Data
Field Observations The Instrument DOJ Framework Descriptive Definitions Observers Gender Ethnicity
Field Observations DEBRIS
Traffic Field Observations
Police Observation Field Observations
Pets, Odors, Noise Area, District, North/South Observers’ Gender/Ethnicity People Adults observed most frequently Area, District, North/South Observers’ Gender/Ethnicity Field Observations
When, Where, and How Neighborhood conditions: - Police, City Services, Crime - Now vs. 2 years ago Conducted on last weekend of October 2005 Population 14,664 => 326 Surveys Target Area Parameters: 60 Freeway South, Lexington Ave North, Reservoir Street East, 71 Freeway West. Resident Surveys
Districts 83 84 87
Hispanic Full time worker under 45 2/3 Property owners Income $35,000 to $50,000 3 or fewer children Survey Respondents
13 Questions 25% Neighborhood Perception No Serious Issue Differences 24% Vandalism among youth 26.1% Thought not an issue 23.3% Lack of jobs as a serious issue 25.5% Do not know if it is or not Resident Surveys
Survey Analysis Neighborhood • Asked 32 questions regarding their neighborhood • Significance in only 8 areas • 5 of these areas showed moderate relationship vs strong relationship
Survey Analysis Neighborhood Do know/trust more or fewer * age in 3 groups
Survey Analysis Neighborhood How residents viewed drug usage in their neighborhood
Survey Analysis Neighborhood Views on Robberies Linked to Views on Gangs
Survey Analysis Neighborhood Views on Robberies Linked to Views About Jobs
Survey Analysis Neighborhood Views on Robberies Linked to Drug Treatment