The Trenton Times published the following editorial on April 3, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Opinion: Reduce crime in Trenton with High Point Initiative
By Times of Trenton guest opinion column
on April 03, 2013 at 6:27 AMBy Carlos Avila
One of the most pressing issues in Trenton is crime caused by the drug trade. Drug-related violence has scared away investment and pushed families out of Trenton. Our current approach to dealing with the problem has been, by and large, reactive instead of proactive. We need to address it with creative, effective and sustainable initiatives that empower the very people it affects. In addition, there is a need for performance metrics with reasonable, expected outcomes and follow-up actions that include community leaders.
An approach that can work in Trenton is the innovative High Point Initiative. High Point brings together resources from the federal government, prosecutor’s office, local police, community groups and residents to fight crime. David Kennedy, from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, launched the initiative in 2004 in High Point, N.C., where they succeeded in eliminating four drug markets. From there, High Point has been implemented in more than 30 cities with sustainable success.
One of the purposes law enforcement serves is to deter crime. Yet, low-level drug dealers tend to accumulate extensive criminal histories but face low risk of going to prison at any given moment. Kennedy has found that the prison risk per cocaine transaction is 1:15,000. Even when a dealer faces a real risk, he usually doesn’t know it until he’s been charged.
The deterrence value of traditional drug enforcement tactics, therefore, is nonexistent, despite very high levels of police patrolling. According to Kennedy, “an effective deterrence framework should produce a meaningful sanction that is made explicitly clear to offenders so that they know they face a real risk before they are arrested.” High Point does that.
Phase 1:
First, law-enforcement officials arrest and prosecute violent offenders or those facing a probation or parole revocation. The cases for low-level dealers, mostly teenagers, without a history of violence or drug charges are “banked”— that is, taken to the point where a warrant could be signed and held there. The low-level dealers are given an option: Stop dealing or go to jail. The chance that something meaningful would happen to them if they continue dealing is no longer 1:15,000, but 1:1, and they know it.
Research shows that when low-level dealers are arrested, they are bailed out and returned to the streets, where they are free to continue dealing. In fact, their dealing increases because, even if they don’t want to deal anymore, they have to make up for lost profits and pay legal expenses.
Under the watch of High Point, low-level offenders are not free to continue dealing unless they want to risk the high chance of activating their case. Banking the cases greatly changes the underlying moral calculus.
This phase of evidence gathering takes six to 10 months. Shortly after the evidence is secured, a community meeting is convened.
Phase 2
High Point brings together affected residents and the low-level dealers to participate in a community meeting where the evidence against them is displayed. The offenders and the community also see the outcome for those who did not qualify for this opportunity and received hefty sentencing. At the meeting, the community addresses the low-level offenders, reprimands them for their destructive behavior and demands change. It is a compassionate yet firm ultimatum for the offenders: Get off the streets or go to jail! In many cases, the drug dealers are neighbors, friends and family members of the very people affected by their criminal activities. Community involvement is paramount.
Phase 3
Parents, community organizations, churches and service providers come together to offer the participating dealers job training, counseling and social services in order to become productive, law-abiding citizens. Many of these services are already in place, but they do no co-exist in an organized and systematic fashion to serve this population. Assistance would be coupled with clear expectations and consequences, should the offenders commit another crime.
Many in law enforcement may characterize this strategy as soft on crime. But police chiefs who have implemented High Point conclude that it is not only acceptable but, in fact, preferable. Every city that has implemented the program has seen an immediate reduction in crime and tighter communities. High Point, N.C., experienced a 57 percent drop in violent crime in the targeted area. Overall, cities are seeing up to a 50 percent reduction in violent drug-related crime.
High Point should not be implemented citywide, but in “hot-spots” where progress can be tracked and measured. It can start small and expand according to its effectiveness. High Point in Trenton could encourage and complement the return of a TAC (tactical anti-crime) type unit. It is an outcome-oriented plan that can work despite the city police department’s limited resources. Generous funding is available to implement this initiative through the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
This initiative is not the be-all and end-all to solving our crime problem, but it has been consistently successful and cost-effective. I am committed to partnering with law-enforcement agencies and the community to secure funding and take Trenton to a high point.
Carlos Avila studies revitalization of American cities at Princeton University. He is a graduate of Leadership Trenton and a former candidate for Trenton City Council.