Continuing the series.
Innovative Ideas for New Mayors
Today we feature the achievements of recent winners of Harvard's Innovations in American Government Award. These programs were recognized, in part, because they are readily transferable to other jurisdictions. Future columns in this series will focus on the ideas of individual mayors.
Digital Crime-Fighting: Using Technology to Increase Police Efficiency and Citizen Support
Citizen Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting: Crime fighting depends on quality, real-time, information and citizen participation. The CLEAR enterprise information system for the Chicago Police Department facilitates both. It provides the digital foundation for all police activity reports — including detailed field incident reports and the entire arrest and booking process. CLEAR enables interactive query capabilities through an extensive data warehouse, and promotes community participation by providing searchable information through a public Web site.
Disrupting the Drug Market through Community Confrontation of Dealers Overt Drug Market Strategy: For many cities, arresting drug dealers often proves easier then working to reform these criminals and reduce recidivism. The city of High Point, N.C., developed the Overt Drug Market Strategy specifically to address these challenges. While the most violent offenders are still aggressively prosecuted, other dealers are personally approached and then educated about the predictable consequences of continued dealing. Drug dealers and their families are called into meetings with local and federal law enforcement officers, prosecutors, ministers, service providers and neighborhood residents. The dealers are given an ultimatum: Either stop selling drugs and reap the benefits of employment, affordable housing, and educational programming, or face arrest. The Overt Drug Market Strategy has reduced violent crime in High Point by an average of 51 percent.
Transforming Abandoned Land into Neighborhood Revitalization: Creative Land Disposition
Urban Land Reform Initiative: Foreclosures of distressed properties are bad enough for a community, but the potential neglect or misuse of property sold through forced sales often leads to problems that are just as bad, or worse. Genesee County, Mich., reengineered tax collection, tax foreclosure and land disposition to create a citizen-driven sustainable process that removes abandoned property from speculation. The Genesee County Land Bank acquires land through foreclosure and determines the best use of land — with input from neighbors and community groups — to support redevelopment opportunities for affordable owner-occupied housing. The result has been revitalized neighborhoods, more affordable housing and a slowing of urban sprawl.
Saving the Climate, One City at a Time:
Mobilizing Green Seattle Climate Protection Initiative: The Climate Protection Initiative confronts global warming at the local level, beginning with a reduction of Seattle's pollution through the reform of provision of public services. For example, Seattle City Light, a municipal electric utility, is now the only utility in the country to produce electricity with zero net emissions of greenhouse gases. Building on its success in reducing climate pollution, the Climate Protection Initiative created a coalition of American mayors who are taking similar action in their own jurisdictions, promoting stronger national policy and inspiring grassroots efforts throughout the country.
