THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 10, 1997 TAG: 9702100040
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: PORTSMOUTH TURNING IT AROUND
SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 150 lines
It may not be Mayberry yet. But when Portsmouth calls a town meeting, people show up.
Last year, more than 400 attended the city's first Crime Summit, rallying behind cries like state Del. William Moore's ``Enough is enough.''
A year later, it looks like just maybe enough was enough.
A week before this year's summit, about 430 people already have registered, and this time they have something to celebrate - the first drop in violent crime in 13 years.
The city has even dropped the word ``crime'' from the second summit.
The reason, says Police Chief Dennis Mook: ``It's more than just crime. It's quality-of-life issues.''
So come Saturday, it's the NEAT Summit, a new, upbeat version that builds on last year's brainstorming by showcasing some of the things that worked.
Talk to people around town and they say the NEAT (Neighborhood Enhancement and Action Teams) community policing program is what worked.
They like having their own police officers, especially when those officers are aggressively working with them to solve problems ranging from drug traffickers to neighborhood eyesores.
Last year, Mook said, the summit helped introduce and jump-start the NEAT program while getting feedback from the community on its concerns.
``I think it really brought to the forefront how we're trying to change how the Police Departmentdoes business,'' Mook said.
Beyond that, the last summit brought together a diverse group of citizens and government leaders, and unleashed a bounty of ideas and enthusiasm.
A year later, people seem to be walking a little prouder in Portsmouth.
While they're in that mood, the city's going to challenge them to roll up their sleeves and do even more.
The key words, Mook said, will be partnerships and problem-solving.
Participants are being asked to choose three of a dozen workshops spotlighting everything from successful neighborhood watches to new volunteer opportunities, according to Anne Lyons, a NEAT Summit committee member.
``In one instance we're going to challenge every citizen to become a mentor to some young person,'' said Lyons, a program administrator for the Portsmouth Community Services Board.
In another, she said, service organizations will learn how they can adopt a neighborhood and work on projects such as playgrounds.
``One thing that I was impressed with is that just about all of the workshops are really like a call to action,'' Lyons said.
When the committee was deciding what to spotlight in workshops, members looked for ideas that had proved successful.
``We just believe you're going to have a lot more enduring results if there are community partnerships,'' she said.
Also, those programs and partnerships had to be innovative and able to be repeated in other communities, she said.
Each workshop is about 40 minutes long, and neighborhood groups that register together are encouraged to split up so that they can ``scope out as many workshops as possible,'' Lyons said.
Before workshops begin, Mook will talk about the past year's successes and recommendations from the last summit that were developed.
Lyons said the summit committee - comprising about 30 members, mostly citizens - has worked hard to make sure the summit builds on last year's.
The members also have worked to ensure there are no barriers to anyone participating. People with special needs are accommodated, and vans and buses have been rounded up to provide transportation to those who need it.
I do think there's a lot of excitement about the summit,'' Lyons said. ``Obviously there was a great deal of energy generated last year. So I think people are anxious to see what came out of last year's recommendations.''
The first summit definitely motivated people, she said, a fact demonstrated in the ``tremendous turnouts'' each time community police officers were introduced to neighborhoods as the program was expanded throughout the city.
Mook has seen that, too.
``The people of Portsmouth have rallied beyond my wildest dreams,'' he said.
Some of that community spirit already was growing with the city's Vision 2005 revitalization plan, he said.
He remembers when Vision 2005 first started drawing large groups of citizens to city meetings.
``For the first time ever that I could remember, citizens came up and said: `This is a great program - what can we do to make this happen?' ''
The same thing, he said, is happening with community policing.
Besides citizen involvement, the other key to the community policing program, he said, has been the support and cooperation of other agencies and city departments.
``It would have failed miserably if the other city departments didn't buy into this and see the value of this program,'' Mook said.
The program also benefited from the support of churches, schools and businesses, he said.
``I'm proudest of how everyone has come together as a community for everyone's good.'' MEMO: The Neighborhood Enhancement and Action Teams Summit will be held
from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Willett Hall and the adjoining Hunt-Mapp
Middle School on Willett Drive. For more information about registration
and workshops, see Page B3.
SUMMIT SCHEDULE [Appeared on page B3]
The Neighborhood Enhancement and Action Teams Summit will be held
from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Willett Hall and the adjoining Hunt-Mapp
Middle School on Willett Drive.
Registration will be conducted from 1 to 1:30 p.m., with refreshments
served during that time.
From 1:30 to 2:15, the summit will open with a look at the past year
and an overview of the 12 workshops offered in Willett Hall.
Citizens then will head for workshops. The workshops will last 40
minutes each, and participants can choose three of those offered.
The workshop topics:
Neighborhood watches that work.
A new program that uses trained volunteers to divert youths from the
Juvenile Court system.
NEAT offices throughout the city and the services offered.
Innovative and effective ways to rid a community of drugs.
A youth team demonstrating a process that can be used to involve
young people in crime prevention activities.
The business watch program and a look at how local businesses worked
with community police officers to eliminate criminal activity around
their property.
Clean neighborhoods - how they deter criminal activity and how to
achieve them.
Opportunities for adults to mentor youth.
Neighborhood traffic problems and the new Strategic Traffic
Enforcement Team.
Crime prevention discussion led by officers of the Portsmouth Police
Department and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
Partnerships between business leaders, community groups and
neighborhoods that improve quality of life.
The Citizens Police Academy, how it works, from the coordinator of
the program and citizens who have participated.
Teen-agers are encouraged to participate in the workshops. The Girls
Inc. Center for Youth will conduct special activities for children ages
8 to 13.
The event will conclude with a free dinner at 5 p.m. in the school's
cafeteria.
Free transportation and child care are available.
To register, call 393-8618, Ext. 15, as soon as possible. ILLUSTRATION: CRIME & SAFETY
An occasional report on public safety trends in our communities.
FIGHTING CRIME IN PORTSMOUTH
Violent crime dropped in the city for the first time in 13 years.
Here's a look at each neighborhood.
GRAPHIC
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
SOURCE: Analysis of police incident reports by Naomi Aoki, staff
writer
The Virginian-Pilot
KEYWORDS: CRIME PORTSMOUTH SUMMIT