By Jessica Vander Velde, Times Staff Writer
Friday, October 8, 2010
TAMPA — On Monday, bay area leaders will gather in Tampa to glean community-improvement strategies from a pilot program in the University Community Area, a part of town historically marred by a high crime rate and the nickname "Suitcase City."
Local officials, including the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office, say they've seen drastic changes in the past decade, in part thanks to the Coordinated Community Anti-Crime Initiative program. The Florida Attorney General's Office funded the program, which launched in 2004.
Program leaders have traveled the state, teaching others how to improve neighborhoods blighted with crime, poor housing and little access to social services. On Monday, they speak in Tampa.
The St. Petersburg Times talked to program director Julian Garcia about the program, its accomplishments and his plans for the future.
What has the program accomplished since 2004?
We did a survey to see how people feel about the neighborhood, and we mapped the crime so we can see where the perception of crime is and where the crime is actually taking place. Overall in the state of Florida, crime has gone down, and in this community it's gone down. The last year we have the best numbers (for) is 2008, and crime went down 10 percent (in the University Community Area), or about 360 crimes. But what we're really trying to do is build a sense of ownership in the area. We started the University Area Business Association. We started a faith-based organization so the clergy in the area could work together. We have started working with the sheriff's department and apartment owners in the area to work on common crime problems.
This seems to be less about constructing buildings and more about bringing different groups together.
Exactly. One of the key things we've done is to create partnerships — with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, which has the command center and the new Eye on Crime cameras, and the school district to get the career center and Muller Elementary Magnet. We've partnered with Hillsborough County to get the social service center and the public health department to get the health center. We knew we couldn't do it all ourselves.
How has the program affected the quality of life in the University Community Area? What kind of feedback have you been getting?
People in the community are very happy with the change in atmosphere. Things look different, and it brings people in the community together. I think one of the really important things is the Grassroots Leadership Program, which builds leaders in the community.
Has the anticrime program directly affected crime?
What we have done with this program is to try and make a sustainable, livable community. We cannot say directly that it has reduced crime, but we think it has had an effect on crime, because we think we have created a sense of community. It's like the old times, when people used to look out for their neighbors. We think we're getting that in this community.
Is this it for the anticrime program? What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
We will continue to proceed with improving the community. One of the areas we're going into now is affordable housing — buying the apartment complexes ourselves and then renting them out.
This interview was edited for clarity and brevity. Times staff writer Darla Cameron contributed to this report. Jessica Vander Velde can be reached at jvandervelde@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3433.