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Build Trust, Reduce Crime: Implementing Collective Efficacy in Communities

This session describes how police and residents can reduce crime by increasing trust within and across neighborhoods. Based on research findings and personal experience in communities across the country, the presenters will describe the theory of collective efficacy and how police and residents can implement it in their jurisdictions. Collective efficacy refers to the way in which residents handle problems; their willingness to intervene and their social and emotional investments guide them to respond in different ways. The presenters have found that high collective efficacy leads to crime reduction, higher satisfaction with the police, and lower levels of fear of crime. The presenters will provide examples of successful implementation efforts in Miami, FL and Nashville, TN. 

 

Speakers:

Craig Uchida, PhD

Dr. Uchida started his career in criminology as Director of Research at the National Institute of Justice and later as Assistant Director for Grants Administration and Senior Policy Adviser for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) in the U.S. Department of Justice.  At the COPS Office, he and his staff were responsible for developing and implementing the grant making process that involved grant awards and grant monitoring of the $3.4 billion to over 9,000 law enforcement agencies with more than 65,000 officers. His efforts at the COPS Office resulted in two major US Department of Justice Awards – the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award in 1995 and the JustWorks Award for innovation in government in 1997.

Shellie Solomon, PhD

Dr. Solomon was a Senior Policy Analyst/Supervisor at the COPS Office, serving as a point person for coordinating over 10,000 grants for small and rural agencies.  Ms. Solomon received her doctorate in governance from the University of Maastricht, Netherlands, a United Nations University, through the UNU Merit Program (Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute). She earned a master’s in public policy at the University of Rochester and her bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of Oklahoma. 

Commander Marlene Pardue 

 

Materials: