By KEITH GRANT
The $194,645 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development is geared towards helping the police to take a comprehensive community-based approach to the issues of drug-usage and drug-related crime in the North Park Neighborhood. Although Lt. Jack Radin would not specify on such policing strategies, he said the grant allows the police force to expand its existing drug task force in the area.
The award comes on the heels of a $25,000 block grant for the police department that will be used to cover overtime costs incurred while addressing special community concerns and circumstances. These might include extra assistance during the Jewish High Holy days, any special events, narcotics-related conditions, and any quality-of-life issues that may arise. That particular grant requires a match of $2,812 in City funds, an exceptionally low amount for participation in such a program.
The most important aspect of the grants, officials said, is that they help the department's community policing efforts, which police and civic leaders have praised.
"Community policing in North Park has been a true success story," Radin said. "It's made the people in the community feel better about the police force. The results have been a safer neighborhood."
Both police and neighborhood leaders have voiced concern that the department's return to rotating tour shifts for its officers will harm community policing, though City officials have said that would not be the case. For the past three years, police worked under so-called steady tours in which they patrolled the same neighborhoods for the same hours each day, gaining a familiarity with the people there.
In discussing the recent grants, Patrick Graham, who will leave soon as executive director of the MLK Center, noted that community policing allows residents to develop a relationship with specific police officers.
"I think the worst thing in the world is youth not knowing the names of police, and the police not knowing the names of the youth," Graham said. "You can't develop those type of relationships without community policing..."
Nonetheless, the grant money is expected to go a long way in helping the police department's continued efforts to keep North Park drug-free. The funds will assist additional efforts by the county prosecutor to reduce the backlog of drug-related cases from the area, and to expedite the processing of cases entering the system.
A third aspect of the grant is to provide funds for the creation of a Neighborhood Networks computer learning center at the MLK Center to provide basic computer skills to children, teens and adults. The goal of the program is to reduce unemployment and underemployment, and to improve school performance and reduce the drop-out rate.
"It'll be a learning center for teens and young adults, and anyone from the neighborhood that would like to tap into the job market," Lt. Radin said, adding that dozens of community members have already stepped forward to volunteer their time and skills to the new center.
"It's been a true grass-roots effort," Radin said.
The overall thrust of the program is to remove or significantly reduce the drug culture from the neighborhoods by providing a positive experience for children, teens and adults that will bridge their way into the economic and social mainstream. With about 8-10 new computers hoped for by March, Graham is happy to see the long-hoped-for program finally on its way.
"We've found from both young and older adults that some of them didn't have the technology skills that the job market requires," he said. With $22,000 from the HUD grant, combined with a recent $25,000 state grant secured by Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, the center now hopes to be able to provide those technology skills to residents.
Graham said the MLK Center's current six computers need serious upgrades because most are old, donated equipment.
"Those donors had good intentions, but we really need the most advanced equipment we can get, now," he said.
Graham said the center will support a career-readiness program for all residents 14 and older, as well as after-school computer programs and homework assistance for youths 6-13.
"We'll also try to make it available to kids in the City child-care program," Graham said. "I feel, and the board feels, that these youths are children of the entire community and we want to expand that program to the whole community."
