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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-Memo-Street Closures in Liberty SquareSubmittedinto the public record innconnectionn with CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA items nR2.on O.212III2 Todd B. Hannon INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM City Clerk TO Johnny Martinez, P.E. City Manager FROM Man ►uel Orosa Chiei\of Police DATE: April 26, 2012 FILE SUBJECT: Street Closures in Liberty Square REFERENCES: ENCLOSURES: Several months ago, Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones and I discussed the possibility of addressing violent crime, namely, drive -by shootings in the Liberty Square Public Housing Complex, through the implementation of street closures. My office has researched the effectiveness of such efforts in other jurisdictions, summarized our findings by way of this memorandum for your perusal, and made a policy recommendation for your review and approval. SUMMARY According to Dr. Ronald V. Clarke, who researched the effectiveness of street closure programs in the United States, England, and Canada, street closures can often prove successful in limiting criminals' easy ingress and egress routes to places that would otherwise be desirable locations to commit a crime(s). In Closing Streets and Alleys to Reduce Crime: Should You Go Down this Road?, Dr. Clarke outlines several cases where street closures were successful in reducing crime and/or citizens' perception of crime. It should be noted that most of the successful street closure projects were undertaken in conjunction with a community -oriented policing initiative. The following is an overview of some of the cases cited in Dr. Clarke's study: 1. Asylurn Hill, a neighborhood of Hartford, Connecticut: Asylum Hill, a declining inner- city neighborhood in Hartford, Connecticut, was the site of one of the first reported street closure projects in the United States. Asylum Hill was plagued with burglaries, robberies, and purse snatchings. In 1976, four streets were closed, and neighborhood policing was introduced. The project resulted in a reduction in crime that lasted approximately 3 years and a longer -lasting perception by citizens of a reduced fear of crime and improved community cohesion. It should also be noted that the crime increase in Asylum Hill at the end of the initial 3 year period occurred at a lower rate in comparison with the rest of Hartford, which experienced a more significant crime increase. Also, the crime increase in Asylum Hill and Hartford as a whole was concomitant with a significant manpower reduction in the city's police force. 2. Five Oaks, a neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio:- Five Oaks, was a Dayton, Ohio neighborhood that was once a stable, middle-class neighborhood that in the Iate 1980s to early 1990s became a working-class neighborhood with increased poverty and neighborhood decay. Five Oaks' crime problems included drug houses, shootings, prostitution, and speeding traffic. Within the 10-square-block area that encompassed Five Johnny Martinez, P.E. P e 12 City Manager Oaks, a total of 35 streets were closed. One year after the street closures, crime had declined 25 percent, with an even larger reduction of 40 percent in violent crime. Resident surveys also demonstrated a reduced perception of serious crime in the neighborhood. 3. Newton, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California: In 1990, the City of Los Angeles launched a street closure project dubbed "Operation Cul-de-Sac" in its Newton neighborhood. Newton covers approximately 1 square mile, with 5,000 residents and 500 dwellings. Half of Newton's households lived below the poverty line. Newton had one of the highest recorded levels of serious crime in Los.Angeles, as it was plagued by drug activity, gang activity, and drive -by shootings. Foot, bicycle, and mounted patrols were stepped up in Newton, and iron gates and barriers were installed throughout the neighborhood. In 1989, seven homicides were committed in Newtown. In the two years after the street closure project was launched, only one homicide was reported in Newton. During the first and second years of the program, aggravated assaults declined from 190 to 163 and from 163 to 138, respectively. A comparison site where no barriers were erected saw no decreases in violent crime. In December 199I, public support for the program faltered, the barriers were removed, and homicides and other violent crimes soon returned to their 1989 levels. Perhaps what is most significant about "Operation Cul-de-Sac" is that there was no evidence whatsoever of crime displacement, i.e., the murders, drive -by shootings, and aggravated assaults did not simply "spill over" into the adjacent neighborhoods. They simply stopped occurring. 4. BeImont, a neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina: During a 9 month period (from 1998 to 1999) prior to the initiation of a street closure project, 5 drug -related homicides and over 100 aggravated assaults took place in the northeastern section of the Belmont neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. In a I2-month before -and -after comparison of reported crime data, violent crime logged a 54% decrease (59 to 27), and arrests in Belmont fell by 42%. As a whole, violent crime decreased by 12% in Belmont. 5. Miami Shores, Florida: In the mid-1980's, Miami Shores, Florida experienced increased property crime, traffic, and speeding within its city limits. Although drive -by shootings and violent crime was not among the city's problems at the time, the Miami Shores example serves as a local example of a successful experiment in street closures. From 1988 to 1991, Miami Shores closed 67 streets, and an additional 8 streets were closed in 1992. Although the street closures resulted in small declines in property crimes and no change in robberies and aggravated assaults, the crime reduction came at a time where Miami and Miami -Dade County logged significant increases and a general upward trend, respectively, in the aforementioned crime categories. CONSIDERATIONS While street closure projects have been successful in many locations where they have been implemented, they have also been opposed by some residents and community groups. In order for a street closure project to be successful, a law enforcement agency must be able to state with a reasonable degree of certainty that the persons committing crimes within the area in question do not reside there. The goal of street closures is to limit the access of criminals who do not Submitted into the public record in connecti2p wit ih items nR•2on O. 2 / 3 Todd B. Hannon City Clerk Johnny Martinez, P.E. P , e 3 City Manager reside in the neighborhood, not to enclose or contain criminals within any given area. Some studies have suggested that in neighborhoods where street closure projects were implemented, decreased violent crime was accompanied by increased drug and prostitution activity, along with traffic disruption. However, law enforcement can counter such increases by assigning personnel and other resources to specifically tackle such issues. Not surprisingly, street closure projects require a great deal of "buy -in" by those affected. Input from residents as to the location and aesthetic design of the barriers is of the utmost importance. • The cost of implementing such a program is negligible in comparison to the cost of investigating murders and drive -by shootings and the emotional and financial toll such crimes take on members of the Liberty Square community. POLICY REGOMJVJENDATION Weighing both the pros and cons of street closures and taking into consideration the seriousness of the violent crimes in Liberty Square, it is my recommendation that we solicit input from the residents in Liberty Square and seek their support for street closures in their neighborhood. It is further recommended that if the residents do agree to street closures, that those closures be aesthetically pleasing. Said closing could and should be financed through the Homeland Defense/Neighborhood Improvement Bond fund. MO:ara cc: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission Submitted into the public record in connectiorry}witJi items 17Ah.on 02/2//3 Todd B. Hannon City Clerk Johnny Martinez, P.E. City Manager SOURCES P < e e• I 4 Clarke, Ronald V. (2005). Closing Streets and Alleys to Reduce Crime: Should You Go Down This Road? Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Fowler, Floyd J. and Thomas W. Mangione. (1982). Neighborhood Crime, Fear and Social Control: A Second Look at the Hartford Program. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice. Lasley, James R. (1996). Using Traffic Barriers to "Design Out" Crime: A Program Evaluation ofLAPD's Operation Cul-de-Sac. Division of Political Science and Criminal Justice, California State University, Fullerton. U.S. Department ofJustice, Office ofJustice Programs. (n.d.). Program Profile: Operation Cul- de-Sac. Retrieved April 11, 2012, from the World Wide Web: http://www.crimesolutions.gov/ProgxamDetails.aspOID=124 SUBMITTED INTO THE PUBLIC RECORD FOR ITEM Na.i ON .