Westminster Heights Neighborhood Plan - City of St. Petersburg

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WESTMINSTER HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN CHAPTER 3 PUBLIC SAFETY The Westminster Heights residents identified crime and public safety as one of the priorities for the neighborhood plan. Reducing the frequency and perception of crime is essential to the revitalization of the neighborhood and the creation of a positive image of the Westminster Heights area. The City of St. Petersburg Police Department’s records of incoming calls requesting police assistance for the Westminster Heights Neighborhood show the majority of the calls for services were for alarms, illegal dumping, loose dogs, domestic disorders, noise violations, or narcotic drug law (NDL) violations (see Neighborhood Public Safety Concerns map). Public safety concerns related to the underlying issue of youth; neighbors report the dual concern of high numbers of youth involved in or associating with drug trade and needing places for children and youth to be involved in positive activities (see Appendix). Neighborhood Public Safety Concerns December 2008 42
WESTMINSTER HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN Community Policing Community policing was developed in St. Petersburg in 1991 as a philosophy and management style that promotes partnerships between residents, police officers, and other city departments. The philosophy is designed to develop community involvement in pro-active problem solving. Community Service Officers (CSO) work with residents to identify and address concerns in their neighborhoods. The CSOs attend neighborhood meetings to share crime statistics for their area, provide criminal activity updates, teach crime prevention, and inform residents of developing trends and issues. They spend many hours in the community communicating and interacting with residents to provide service that is tailored to meet the needs of the areas they serve. CSOs develop strategies and implement programs designed to improve the safety and quality of life for community residents. The City of St. Petersburg is divided into three policing districts (I, II and III). The district major manages and directs all resources within the district. The Westminster Heights Neighborhood is located in District III. To enhance traditional policing, districts are further broken down under four Community Service Officers (CSO) and one Community Service Sergeant (CSS) assigned to each of the City’s three districts; their sole responsibilities are to act as the community interface and liaison, and become facilitators of the problem solving/community policing process using department-wide resources. All shift sergeants and lieutenants (middle managers) will now play an active role in community policing. Additional community policing/problem solving training will be provided to all sworn employees in order to finalize this decentralizing expansion process, giving them the knowledge base necessary to ensure effective community partnering. This expansion will focus all employees on their community-policing role. District III has a central telephone contact number (727-551-3183) for residents within Westminster Heights to call and report quality-of-life issues, with a return phone call within 24 hours by a CSO. Calls received will be assigned, extensively tracked via a computer-based reporting system and resolved. The Department’s response to these calls will be measured and reported in the Department’s Performance Measures. Appropriate personnel will regularly attend Westminster Heights Neighborhood meetings. This approach will address neighborhood concerns of unreturned phone calls and unattended meetings. December 2008 43
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Westminster Heights Neighborhood Plan - City of St. Petersburg

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