POLICE PRACTICES: DRUG FREE BLOCK PLAN By Deputy Chief Charles W. Bennett, Jr. and Captain A. Christine Bailor, M.P.A., Richmond, VA Police Department Open-air drug markets remain a persistent and frustrating problem for many police departments. These drug markets allow dealers to sell their wares quickly to both drive-up and walk-up customers. They are frequently found in residential districts, with both the dealers and buyers coming in from other areas to conduct their business. Once-vital neighborhoods quickly become crumbling slums when this type of drug activity moves into the area. Overt, street corner drug dealing results in acts of violence, neighborhood decay, mistrust of governmental authorities and citizen fear. As a result, law-abiding citizens who live near open-air drug markets frequently develop a "bunker mentality." They stay inside their homes as much as possible, lose contact with their neighbors, and purposely isolate themselves from the illegal activities taking place outside. Unfortunately, police departments nationwide have found it difficult - if not impossible - to eliminate open-air drug markets. Although "buy-busts," long term undercover operations, surveillance, and even reverse drug sales have resulted in thousands of felony arrests, the problem continues. Drug dealers arrested by police are frequently back on the street or replaced by another "entrepreneur" before officers complete the arrest paperwork. While citizens believe that the answer to this problem is increased neighborhood police patrols, law enforcement leaders recognize that this measure does little to solve the problem. Instead, it merely results in displacement of dealers to other neighborhoods. Meanwhile, increased police patrols in one sector leave other areas with reduced services, making these area even more vulnerable to new problems. Clearly, this issue requires a different approach. A Different Approach When the number of open-air drug markets began to increase within its jurisdiction, the Richmond, Virginia, Police Department created an innovative program to combat the problem. Recognizing that closing open-air drug markets required a joint police- community effort, police administrators developed a Drug-Free Block Plan. This plan allows citizens - working closely with police - to take back their neighborhoods from drugs dealers. The Drug-Free Block Plan has three specific goals. The first is to involved both citizens and police in combating neighborhood drug problems on a block-by-block basis. The partnership between police and citizens strengthens the effort to rid the block of not only illegal drug activity, but also the environmental factors that contribute to it. The second goal of the program is to foster a police-community partnership that is positive, action-oriented, and achievable. The alliance that forms serves to better the community as a whole. Administrators sustain this bond between the community and the police through a rapid response to community requests. Failing to deliver promised services dooms the program. The third goal is to use the program as a catalyst for the active involvement of all city agencies and services to enhance the quality of life within the affected neighborhoods. At monthly meetings, citizens in the community bring specific concerns they may have to the attention of police. Police officials then request that personnel from city agencies that can resolve these concerns attend the next monthly meeting. The police, however, do not organize a drug-free block; the citizens who live on the block do. The police help by informing citizens of the Drug-Free Block Plan's existence and by providing interested citizen with the organizational strategy. Partnership Agreement The Drug-Free Block Plan requires a true community and police partnership. Both community members and the department make certain commitments, take certain risks, and share in the ultimate success or failure of the program. As part of the partnership, citizens voluntarily commit to lead individual drug-free lives, to forbid the use or possession of illegal drugs in their homes, and to work together to enhance the problem-solving relationship between the department and the neighborhood. Furthermore, the agree to unite against crime by refusing to tolerate illegal drug or criminal activity on their block, reporting all such activity to authorities, and testifying in court when necessary. In return for the citizen's commitment, the department pledges to provide a police point-of-contact in the neighborhood precinct and a team of officers to develop tactics to impede drug sales and to arrest any involved individual. These officers, as well as the beat officers, carry digital pagers and cellular phones so that residents can contact them easily. This also ensures that when neighbors have information regarding problems on the block, they can talk directly with an officer they know personally. The department also makes the commitment to reprogram the dispatch computer to give higher priority to calls of illegal drug dealing and disorder in the drug-free neighborhoods. This translates into quicker response by police, which, in turn, further solidifies the positive rapport between the community and police. The department also resolves to involve other city agencies in the plan. These agencies may provide resource material on how to enhance the quality of life in the participating neighborhoods, and the representatives may attend meetings to help resolve problems that fall within the parameters of their agencies. For example, if citizens complain to police that there is not enough lighting in the neighborhood, representatives of the utility company meet with the citizens to discuss what can be done to rectify the situation. This personalized attention not only builds trust between citizens and police, but also brings an improved image of the neighborhood to those who live, work, and visit there. Finally, the department agrees to designate the blocks as drug- free by placing signs at each end of the participating blocks. Police officials also provide citizens with "Drug-Free House" stickers, which they can display in the windows of their homes. Signing the Agreement To further cement this partnership, police officials and community members sign a formal, written agreement. In order to qualify for the program, 80 percent of all adults, 60 percent of the neighborhood's youth (6th grade through high school) and 80 percent of all property owners in the designated block must sign the agreement, reaffirming their desire to rid their block of illegal drug activity. These participation thresholds are kept high by design. Residents, as well as property and business owners, must truly want to involve themselves in the program. If they fail to form a united front against drugs, the police will not incorporate their block into the program. Once the prerequisite number of block citizens sign the agreement, the mayor, city manager, chief of police, and the appropriate precinct commander sign the agreement at a public ceremony held on the block. The city's Traffic Engineering Department the installs the drug-free signs, and neighborhood residents receive the stickers to place on their windows. The dispatch computer is also immediately reprogrammed for that particular block, sending a strong signal to other neighborhoods that those who make a commitment to work with the police for the betterment of the community will get quicker response to calls for assistance. Enforcement With the signed agreement in hand, the department and the community together begin to focus on the block's drug issues and how the problems can be eliminated. The begin, the precinct's Street Enforcement Unit (SEU) surveys the block and develops a written plan for meeting the specific needs of the neighborhood. Then SEU supervisors implement the operations of the plan. They also provide regular reports to the precinct commander, who is responsible for making whatever personnel assignments are necessary to achieve the plan's enforcement goals. SEU officers coordinate with assigned beat units to meet with neighbors, explain various aspects of the program, and schedule regular meetings between citizens, police and other city agencies. However, a team of precinct officers implements the tactics specifically designed to impede neighborhood drug dealing. These officers also make necessary arrests and maintain the contact with neighborhood citizens. Conclusion To date, 19 blocks in Richmond have joined the Drug-Free Block Plan. Of these, 14 have experienced a 25 to 30 percent decrease in total calls for service. Even more important, there is increased citizen satisfaction within the neighborhoods. Community members and business owners now believe that their neighborhoods are safer, more pleasant places to live. Because this plan demands a consideration commitment on the part of both the neighborhoods and the department, officials estimate that only five additional blocks per year will join the plan. The plan requires a true partnership between police and citizens - it cannot survive when the police act simply as overseers. However, the measured process of adding blocks ensures that police administrators can deliver promised services in a timely and effective manner. As citizens see these services making a difference in their neighborhoods, they become even more engaged in the partnership - a sure sign that the plan does, indeed, work. At their best, community policing efforts bring hope back to ravaged communities. The Drug-Free Block Plan represents the community policing philosophy in action. -- Originally published in the July '94 issue of FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.