Value Based Initiatives

RCPI photo Under the goal of advancing and supporting community policing, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) provides grant funding to police agencies to strengthen relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve, with an emphasis on partnering with the faith community. Officers and citizens working together toward a common goal requires team building and trust. Significant progress is being made to ensure that all of our nation's communities are safe, secure, and productive. The Value Based Initiative (VBI) strives to improve the health of communities by helping them build meaningful partnerships.

Current VBI funding supports:

strong partnerships between law enforcement and the community, especially the faith community;
furtherance of the community's role as a leader in crime reduction efforts;
identification of social issues that diminish the quality of life in communities;
links between the citizens and existing community resources and services; and
development and implementation of a Community Safety Plan for crisis situations.

While most cities have existing community policing programs, these programs can benefit from conscientious and creative applications to improve their effectiveness. Law enforcement agencies that take active roles and initiate positive programs are instrumental to the development of successful neighborhoods.

Innovative Promising Practices

Boston Police Department, Massachusetts
In Boston, the VBI brings together five faith-based organizations to partner with the Boston Police Department, mentoring and monitoring the most high risk ex-offenders before returning to their neighborhoods. The VBI creates an integrated support network across neighborhoods to assist this population in the reintegration process. Early outcomes have been promising. Future goals include providing assistance to other jurisdictions in the re-entry process.

Chicago Police Department, Illinois
Forging an alliance with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), the Chicago Police Department puts VBI funding to work in minority neighborhoods. Chicago's VBI action plan includes implementation of a series of workshops designed to get to the root causes of racial issues causing division in minority communities, with the faith community a key part of those efforts. This VBI program is also helping the Chicago Police Department to develop a performance plan. PERF will help police gather and analyze citizen feedback through professional surveying techniques.

Fort Wayne Police Department, Indiana
Joining forces with the city's "Stop the Madness" program, this youth development agency and police utilized VBI funding to create an alliance to curb anti-social trends. This paring of community policing and juvenile delinquency experts promotes programs focusing on crisis intervention, mentoring activities, interview skills, job referral assistance, and open discussions from the youth perspective. A ministers' training academy has also been instrumental in working with law enforcement to positively impact the community.

Fort Worth Police Department, Texas
Charged with creating a VBI system that encourages and facilitates the movement of target communities into the city's mainstream, the Forth Worth Police Department has teamed with Ministers Against Crime to take on community problems. The task force's action plan includes the establishment of a community training and resource center, a community recruiting campaign, volunteer training, and a citizen patrol program.

Redlands Police Department, California
The Redlands Police Department in California is focused on introducing the faith community to existing youth development programs through the local community collaborative, "Building a Generation." In addition, the VBI has been instrumental in the establishment of a teen "cyber cafe" that is intended to provide Redlands youth with a safe place to enjoy positive, social activities in the critical after-school hours. At the cafe, teens have access to high-end computer technology, homework assistance, and job training. The Redlands VBI also facilitates the faith community's involvement in the criminal justice system through the local "Cops and Clergy Network" by involving local congregations in the Redlands Youth Accountability Board, the Redlands Drug Court, and prisoner re-entry programs. In addition, the Redlands PD is creating a new website that will serve as a national repository of resources for law enforcement, the faith community, and other community agencies.

St. Paul Police Department, Minnesota
Forming a partnership between the St. Paul Police Department, YWCA, and Collaborative Movement for Improvement, the city's VBI reflects their grass-roots commitment to providing citizens with the highest standard of public safety. St. Paul's VBI program focuses on ways citizens, police, and city officials can work together to develop effective crime prevention strategies.