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March 2001 | |||
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Richmond CB initiates CAPS Richmond, Virginia Community Builder, Toni Schiegelow's patience finally paid off for the citizens of Richmond in October when the City Council adopted the Community Assisted Public Safety Program (CAPS), a new initiative focused on removing crime from HUD assisted multifamily projects. Development of CAPS began in 1999 to bring the community and law enforcement together to rid their community of nuisance/drug house properties. Toni's inspiration for CAPS came from Norfolk's multifamily housing Public Assisted Community Enforcement (PACE). Toni formed a citywide apartment coalition consisting of property managers to meet with the police to focus on reducing crime in targeted communities. In addition, citizens played an important role in developing the program. First, they met, identified and prioritized problem properties. Second, citizens participated in a Court Watch program which involved attending trials and informing the judges of the impact of these code violations in their community. A pilot is currently underway in one of the 4 precincts. A coordinated effort by the inter-departmental team - police, fire and code inspection responses - has led to an increased ability to close down drug houses. It is too early to assess the reduction of crime; however, calls to police reporting crime have reduced significantly at nuisance properties which were shut down. At one property the number of calls fell from an average of 10 calls per month to zero for two months. For this property alone, it is estimated the police will save 288 hours annually. This frees up police resources for other efforts and makes the community a safer environment in which to live.
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