Micro-Strategy for Drug Houses

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

-Nelson Mandela

My neighborhood is in trouble. Over the last several months neighbors between the 500 & 700 blocks of Ferry Street have been exasperated by (3) drug houses, (2) open air drug markets, prostitution, a dramatic increase (also city-wide) of gang emergence and traffic and a house dominated by several gang members. Throw in a few foreclosures and the slew of issues we’ve had to face due to poor planning between the city and county surrounding the Juvenile Justice Center’s expansion and simply daily operations and a seriously neglected pocket park and you have a deadly cocktail for receding into blight and disorganization.

For some folks that have lived here much longer than I have I’m sure it is accepted simply as the ebb and flow of the city’s social paradigm—one that never seems to be able to get out of its own historic patterns of inner city dislocation. For others it’s time to talk about obtaining gun-carry permits and seriously consider moving.

 Many cities, including Easton, all too often fall into the trap of believing that unless large scale plans along with equivalent funding are written and awarded, it is not possible to tackle persistent issues like these. While EPD has already stepped up to the plate to work hard with residents to solve some of these problems it is simply not enough. It is also an unrealistic expectation of anyone to think they can.

Instead of working harder many other cities are they’re working smarter. Though some of the hurdles we face are beyond our control, others over the last year can be successfully intervened if managed differently. Typically police are notified of a problem house, some neighbors will gather some information and then collectively it is passed onto the appropriate parties in law enforcement. Then neighbors wait for something to happen and while having to endure the problem house(s) wreaking havoc.

Rather than being largely addressed by law enforcement, the problem could be tactically engaged by multiple city partners. By pulling together residents in the neighborhood, NHC Children’s social service if children are in the house, street intervention (like what I do a lot of and gather information and confront drug dealers and gangs) Code Department, Probation if the occupants have criminal records, family members and friends, churches, landlords, businesses Block Watch, Guardian Angels, Street Patrol, non-profits, Weed & Seed, Economic Development, school district and even the home/landlord owned insurance carrier a micro-strategy could be created to dismantle a drug house or even an emerging gang or existing one.

The key lies in leveraging the existing resources to build capacity around solving the problem. Multiple partners cross-pollinate not only to weed out the problem area but in the wake seed positive changes along with a fearful expectation by those who would perpetuate illegal practices of the same kind.

In the case of my neighborhood, we’ve contacted the landlords and Social Services because children are in some of the homes. Because I’m involved in street outreach/intervention I’ve personally confronted some of the actors not only for the sake of diligence but also to offer alternatives. We’re reaching out to Guardian Angels to patrol the area more specifically and I’ve contacted gang members to try to alleviate some of the problems and I’ve also been able to gather more detailed information. Neighbors are writing down license plates and taking pictures and the police have been informed and involved. Without going into detail the County has also been roped in for good reasons. A local business that is being affected will be in the mix and even family members and friends of some of the actors will be approached to help put pressure on the situations. The point is that the burden on EPD is minimized because it is being approached in the framework of shared responsibility.

This is by far not the first time an informal strategy has been created to tackle a problem. The city however could make this a formal strategy. Through this paradigm drug-infested houses have been resolved, gangs have been dismantled and people who need help have been offered and in some cases been radically changed for the better.

What would it take? The actors and stage are in place. What’s needed is someone in the capacity of a strategic role to be a common thread in order to weave participants together, collect information and create strategies. We’d also need street outreach workers, some already who are volunteering, trained by such a person.

What would it cost? Out of the gate, little more than the price of one seasoned, police officer’s salary/benefits and the courage to change the current course by adjusting the police budget (or others) to accommodate a strategic role and necessary resources—that’s the rub.

Will it work? Yes. Such strategies as this have worked in other communities and in Easton—though here it has been done largely outside of a recognized city-sanctioned effort.

EPD and city council are right (and grateful in my experience) to expect the help of citizens. But you know what? I want the help and resources of the city as well. I’d like to see citizens empowered through other more strategically inclusive means. By so doing we alleviate the burden on law enforcement, place greater responsibility on citizenry and organizations not only to act but leverage each other (isn’t that something we all say we want?) all instilling a greater confidence in residents as they see a new and effective and sustainable approach unfold before them.

But someone has to give and I think for the most part at this point it rests at the feet of city council. The decision council has to make is whether or not they are willing to redefine to a small extent what the budget accommodates for crime prevention and intervention. I get awfully tired of hearing the very phrase I was responsible for promoting region wide, “We can’t arrest our way out of…” without any clear demonstration that the money, resources and the methodology behind ‘arrests’ has been re-allocated or shifted to reflect authentic community-based crime reduction. We have to STOP saying ‘we don’t have the money’ while we DO have the money to pour into law enforcement. It’s not a matter of more funding it’s a matter of rerouting the funds we have. It’s not a matter of working harder it’s a matter of working smarter.

We all want to believe that we have the ‘right’ answer. No one is guiltier of parading his own agenda than me. The challenge for us is to admit that perhaps our current approaches while some being applauded, still need to be reordered to an extent. That’s why we have to embrace the successes of other communities even though they may be counter-intuitive, clash with our agendas or politically risky—change always has risk!

It would be awesome if rather than throwing yet another problem area onto EPD’s shoulders, knowing that the first line response still has to send a lot of the information along (for good reasons), I had someone to go to where I would be informed of how the issue would be addressed strategically, what community partners would involved and why and how I would be expected to participate and what the outcomes and time line may be.

We don’t need dozens of volunteers and inordinate amounts of money or resources to do this. In reality, this could be put into place immediately if the willingness to sacrifice and change exists.

HopeUnseen