9/5/2007
Media Contact:
Margie Smith Simmons, 327.3690
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Mayor, criminal justice officials and community kick-off Eagledale/Lafayette Square Weed & Seed to fight crime and revitalize neighborhood
INDIANAPOLIS – Today, Mayor Bart Peterson and representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and the community officially announced the Eagledale/Lafayette Square (ELS) Weed & Seed initiative.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Weed & Seed program was developed to demonstrate an innovative and comprehensive approach to law enforcement and community revitalization.
Weed & Seed has a two-pronged approach to crime control and prevention: Law enforcement agencies and prosecutors cooperate in “weeding” out criminals from the target area and “seeding” brings prevention, intervention, treatment and neighborhood revitalization services to the area.
"Indianapolis has shown once again that our neighborhoods and police department understand the power of community policing. Our success in securing an eighth Weed & Seed site is a direct result of cooperation between our police department, the U.S. Attorney's office and neighborhood leaders and organizations. The relationships between residents and law enforcement that are built through Weed & Seed have the potential to reduce crime and transform neighborhoods," said Peterson.
In 1995, Indianapolis began receiving federal funds to address specific crime issues affecting areas in the city through the Weed & Seed program. To date, eight Weed & Seed sites have been established in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department service district: CNN; Mid-North; NESCO; SUMO; UNWA; Westside; Martindale-Brightwood; and Eagledale/Lafayette Square.
Within each site, four fundamental elements provide the foundation for the Weed & Seed effort:
- Law Enforcement identifies and addresses the most prevalent criminal activity in the designated target areas;
- Community Policing improves police-community relationships by developing programs that increase opportunities for police and citizens to interact in a non-threatening atmosphere;
- Prevention, Intervention and Treatment promote a collaboration between existing service providers in the targeted areas to create opportunities for positive experiences and to create an environment that is not conducive to criminal activities; and
- Neighborhood Restoration supports on-going enforcement efforts, legitimate neighborhood businesses, and the efforts of the Community Development Corporations.
“Weed & Seed is a highly effective crime reduction strategy that has a proven track record throughout the country,” U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks said. “I am so pleased that the Eagledale/Lafayette Square community leaders have brought together residents, business community leaders and law enforcement to work hand-in-hand on the area’s crime problems. The Department of Justice is proud to have the opportunity to financially assist Eagledale/Lafayette Square in their efforts to weed out this crime, seed with revitalization efforts and restore your community.”
Unlike previous Indianapolis Weed & Seed sites, the proposed target area is not technically the “inner city;” rather, it is part of a once “suburban” ring surrounding the inner city. As Indianapolis has aged and the central city has been redeveloped, urban crime and social problems have been pushed out to this next geographic layer of the city.
Eagledale/Lafayette Square is immediately northwest of two previously designated Weed & Seed sites, UNWA and Westside of Indianapolis. Consistent with its history of Weed & Seed innovation, Indianapolis now proposes to tackle the migration of crime toward the suburbs, in an area at risk of further residential and business disinvestment unless crime and fear of crime is reduced.
The target area is bounded by 46th Street and I-65 on the North, 30th and 25th Streets along an irregular line on the South, I-65 and Guion Road on the East, and I-465 on the West. Eagledale/Lafayette Square’s population grew during the 1950s and 1960s, peaked in 1970, and currently stands at 32,240 people.
The ELS Steering Committee will serve as the policy making body for the Weed & Seed initiative. The Steering Committee will meet monthly and will include as members the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Mayor’s Office, Drug Enforcement Agency, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Marion County Prosecutor, Probation Department, neighborhood residents, school officials, faith based groups, businesses and other neighborhood agencies/resource providers.
In May 2006, the ELS Steering Committee opened the doors of its new community center to offer youth ages 4-16 summer programming. The center also serves 10-15 senior citizens three days per week. In October 2006, ELS leaders negotiated with human service providers to add crime prevention services through the community center.
The five year plan for ELS Weed & Seed includes a series of Town Hall meetings where strategies will be discussed that are aimed at reducing drug activity in the community, aiding re-entering offenders, reducing gang activity, community policing, prevention and intervention treatment, and neighborhood restoration.
“The stakeholders in the Eagledale/Lafayette Square area are very pleased to have been designated as a Weed & Seed community,” said Scott Rosenberger, executive director of the Eagledale Northwest Community Center. “We are eager to continue the process of communication and collaboration that was started while crafting the application. Official recognition as a Weed & Seed community will provide funding over the next five years that will allow us to leverage existing resources, and, develop new sources in order to positively impact issues and challenges in the areas of law enforcement; community policing; prevention, intervention and treatment; and neighborhood restoration.”
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