COMMUNITY ACTION TEAMS
A. Program Goal:
To establish Four (4) Community Action Teams [One for each Sector] whose purpose shall be to set the priorities and the agenda for the Chelsea Police Department
B. Background:
It is broadly recognized that social and physical disorder promotes criminal activity, whereas, social cohesion and neighborhood order foster more crime-resistant communities.
With these insights in mind, many police reformers agree that new policing approaches must balance emergency response with a focus on addressing the persistent neighborhood problems linked to crime. They recognize the important role that the police department plays in producing public safety by engaging residents as partners in preventing crime which reintegrates police officers into the fabric of the community and helps to improve overall community-police relations.
To this end, the Chelsea Police Department must work with the community to help to build stronger self-sufficient communities. Crime control tactics need to be augmented with strategies to prevent crime, reduce fear of crime, and improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods of the city.
Problems are most often local in nature, making local knowledge and experience from community members a key to effective problem-solving and sustained progress. Community involvement, from identifying problems in the first instance to establishing priorities, setting the agenda and tailoring the appropriate response is absolutely essential. Understandably, incorporating community knowledge and experience into policing and achieving real inclusion as opposed to mere community legitimization of police to set priorities is going to be a challenge. However, if we as a community are to sustain long-term success in reducing crime, this type of partnership is essential and will ultimately be the key.
C. Strategy:
Four (4) Community Action Teams (“CAT”) shall be established for the purpose of formulating the priorities for the Chelsea Police Department; one from Prattville Neighborhoods (Sector 1), Cary Square Neighborhoods (Sector 2); Mill Hill Neighborhoods (Sector 3) and the Bellingham Square surrounding neighborhoods (Sector 4)
The CATs shall meet on a monthly basis at various predetermined locations throughout the city (See Monthly Schedule).
All meetings shall be posted on the police website (www.chelseapolice.com), a notice placed in the Chelsea Record, and a Public Service Announcement placed on the city-operated cable station (channel 15)
- The CAT shall be conducted in a focus group fashion
- A police representative shall act as the facilitator of the group
- All notes recorded from the meeting shall be transcribed by an appointed secretary and disseminated to respective CAT members and the Chief of Police for dissemination to the affected Division Commanders
The police department has implemented a new form by which residents and business owners can report recurring problems within their neighborhoods. Information obtained from these forms will be reviewed, logged and investigated by police department personnel. This "Sector Problems and Complaints" form "is currently available for download in both English and Spanish.
Note: At the outset a distinction should be drawn between setting policing priorities as opposed to selecting particular strategies to be deployed by the police department. The police department shall defer to the community on setting particular priorities while the police, in consultation with the community, will set particular strategies to be utilized. In this respect the presumption is that within the bounds of the law and the resources available, the police will be guided by the preferences of the community.
Note 2: The Chelsea Police Department shall have an obligation to the community in setting the agenda dictated by the CATs and to the extent that there is any significant divergence from the agreed upon priorities set by the Community Action Teams, the police through its Police Chief will be obligated to provide ample justification for doing so.
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