Lehigh Acres Weed & Seed Project
“Weed and Seed is successful
because it leverages community resources”
- Bo Turbeville, Weed and Seed Steering Committee Chair
What
is the Lehigh Acres “Weed & Seed” project?
The Weed and Seed program, is a community-based strategy sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ), is an innovative, comprehensive multiagency
approach to law enforcement, crime prevention, and community revitalization.
CCDO oversees the Weed and Seed initiative.
Weed and Seed is foremost a strategy—rather than a grant program—that aims to
prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in
designated high-crime neighborhoods across the country. There are more than 250
Weed and Seed sites in size from several neighborhood blocks to several square
miles, with populations ranging from 3,000 to 50,000.
The strategy involves a two-pronged approach: law enforcement agencies and
prosecutors cooperate in "weeding out" violent criminals and drug abusers and
public agencies and community-based private organizations collaborate to "seed"
much-needed human services, including prevention, intervention, treatment, and
neighborhood restoration programs. A community-oriented policing component
bridges the weeding and seeding elements.
At each site, the relevant U.S. Attorney's Office plays a leadership role in
organizing local officials, community representatives, and other key
stakeholders to form a steering committee. The U.S. Attorney's Office also
facilitates coordination of federal, state, and local law enforcement efforts so
that sites effectively use federal law enforcement partners in weeding
strategies. In some instances, the U.S. Attorney's Office helps sites mobilize
resources from a variety of federal agencies for seeding programs.
The Weed and Seed strategy is a multilevel strategic plan that includes four
basic components: law enforcement; community policing; prevention, intervention,
and treatment; and neighborhood restoration. Four fundamental principles
underlie the Weed and Seed strategy: collaboration, coordination, community
participation, and leveraging of resources.
In most Weed and Seed sites, joint task forces of law enforcement agencies from
all levels of government aim to reduce both crime and fear of crime, which gives
back hope to residents living in distressed neighborhoods and sets the stage for
community revitalization. Community policing embraces two key concepts—community
engagement and problem solving. Community policing strategies foster a sense of
responsibility within the community for solving crime problems and help develop
cooperative relationships between the police and residents.
The prevention, intervention, and treatment component concentrates an array of
human services on the designated neighborhood and links law enforcement, social
services agencies, the private sector, and the community to improve the overall
quality of services to residents. Every Weed and Seed site is required to
establish a Safe Haven, a multiservice center often housed in a school or
community center, where many youth- and adult-oriented services are delivered.
Through coordinated use of federal, state, local, and private-sector resources,
neighborhood restoration strategies focus on economic development, employment
opportunities for residents, and improvements to the housing stock and physical
environment of the neighborhood.
Promoting the long-term health and resilience of the community is a true goal of
Weed and Seed, so sustainability must be a key part of a site's structure. The
foundation for sustainability involves maintaining the steering committee as a
mechanism for ongoing implementation of the Weed and Seed strategy beyond the
life of the grant and identifying and securing existing and new resources and
funding sources.
To help or
for other information, call Andrea Hall at 477-1485 or e-mail her at
ahall@sheriffleefl.org
This website is a community project of Lehigh Acres Watchdog, Inc
Copyrighted 2009 Lehigh Acres Watchdog, Inc
