NPA Groups Strategize for Safe Communities

Parents in Chicago discuss their concerns about safety in their neighborhoods

at the Safe and Secure Neighborhoods Coalition Leadership meeting in

December.

Neighborhood safety leaders have made the "NPA Standards for Good Policing" a priority at this year's NPA conference. Police-Community relations are of great concern to most NPA communities. In local community forums and public meetings, NPA groups have heard horror stories about residents being treated badly by the police, youth being stopped and searched for no apparent reason, and immigrants being asked it they are citizens.

“We expect and demand that the local police treat us with respect no matter what our race, age, gender, or immigration status,” said LaKeldra Hardwell, of Hope Street Youth Development in Wichita, KS.

William Matthews, Executive Director of the Community Policing Consortium will address concerns about Police-Community relations. The Consortium is composed of the International Chiefs of Police, National Sheriffs Association, Police Executive Research Forum, and the Police Foundation. Matthews will be asked to endorse NPA’s Standards for Good Policing and to work with NPA to make sure they are being implemented in key cities.

Hello 911!

One of the most pressing issues within many NPA communities is that many non-English speaking residents don’t call 911 because of a language barrier. Large cities like Chicago or New York can handle most of those calls themselves. However, many smaller police departments can’t. For those callers that speak a language that these police departments can’t translate, the police use a company called Language Line. This is very expensive so they try other ways of dealing with the call at first, then if necessary they will use Language Line.

“All people must feel that they can call 911 in an emergency and get the services they need,” said Anita Caballero, of the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council. NPA leaders will discuss local 911 services at the Neighborhood Safety workshops on March 28.

Ex-Offenders Re-enter Communities

There is a lack of programs and services for ex-offenders. This year over 600,000 ex-offenders will be released from prison and return to their communities.

Unfortunately, these individuals are not prepared to reenter society because they often lack job experience, skills and the support services to help them return to mainstream civilian life. An estimated 30 to 50 percent of those released become homeless. According to the sentencing project, more then 100,000 prisoners are being released each year without any form of community-correctional supervision.

NPA sees this as an issue that can be solved by involving the community in developing and implementing reentry programs and by taking a look at both state and federal policies that deny a person who has completed their sentence from having a successful transition back into the community.

NPA is meeting with Andrew Molloy, National Institute of Corrections and President of the American Probation and Parole Association to discuss forming a partnership with NPA to determine the individual community needs for programs and policies, and to work together to develop and implement them locally.

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