Like it or not, successful community-oriented crime prevention will not be initiated by City Hall or the Newark Police Department. Community organizations must take the lead in rallying support for a neighborhood crime prevention initiative. To meet these ends we make the following recommendations:
Increase Community Awareness and Communication
Residents are unaware of the programs and resources available to their neighborhoods. Neighborhood watch programs and community policing are available to Central Ward neighborhoods, but residents do not know about them because no one has "gotten the word out." We recommend that efforts be made by Corinthian Housing and other community organizations to form closer ties with all of the neighborhoods of the West Side Park study area toward this end. This can be in the form of a newsletter, fliers, telephone calls, or just face-to-face contact.
Be Aware of the Fortress Mentality in Planning New Development
For some very good reasons the Central Ward has become a community of bolted entrances, gated windows, and barbed wire fences. But in instituting these deterrents the Central Ward has lost its sense of community and trust. Residents are suspicious of outsiders, do not have a high degree of mutual trust, and lack confidence in the West District police.
We applaud Corinthian Housing for refusing to build a housing development with the design of a fortress. While it would be unrealistic to recommend that all the gates and walls of the Central Ward be torn down, we recommend that the ideal of "community" be kept in mind in planning new development.
In this, we mean that the standard suburban model (e.g. cul de sacs and gated communities) should be avoided. As a city, Newark has the advantage of the potential for a dense and lively urban atmosphere, which is conducive to close community ties among residents. Thus, new development is recommended to follow Newark’s traditional urban form.
Bring Development to the Abandoned Lots and Buildings Next to the Park
We recommend that Corinthian Housing proceed with its efforts to bring additional development to the abandoned buildings and lots that face West Side Park. We make this recommendation with three goals in mind. First, development facing the park will provide a constant surveillance of the activities inside the park. Second, this development will be highly desired because of its proximity to the Central Ward’s greatest asset, the West Side Park. Third, new occupants of the park side development will come to have a personal investment in the maintenance and safety of West Side Park.
Form a Crime Prevention Coalition of Police, Residents, CDCs, Local Businesses, Schools, Churches, and the Newark Housing Authority
We recommend that Corinthian assist the above groups in coming together to form a Crime Prevention Coalition. This coalition can establish goals for the community and implement crime prevention through a comprehensive planning effort.
Increased or more effective policing was a priority of survey respondents, and would have a positive effect on perceptions and realities of crime. We recommend that community groups, residents, churches, local businesses, schools, and the police be encouraged to work together to share ideas on improving service while not overburdening the scarce resources of the department. Such ideas could include: exploring more community policing concepts (bike or foot patrols); identifying trouble-spots (vacant or occupied); a police substation at the park; working to develop neighborhood watch and park watch citizen groups to supplement police activities; developing programs aimed at reducing drug abuse and car theft; and having park aides to supervise bathrooms and facilities. Businesses, churches, CDCs, schools, the Newark Housing Authority, and Newark Fighting Back could use their resources to coordinate a variety of educational programs such as crime and drug awareness as well as provide leadership for community-based efforts. All of these activities can be coordinated to form a collaborative strategy aimed at reducing crime.
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