INC NEWS - Cleanup could reduce crime, cabinet suggests (Herald-Sun)

[Caleb Southern]

Cleanup could reduce crime, cabinet suggests

BY GINNY SKALSKI : The Herald-Sun
gskalski at heraldsun.com
Sep 9, 2005 : 9:35 pm ET

DURHAM -- The Bull City could see a reduction in crime if residents in
blighted neighborhoods felt empowered to help spiff up their communities,
city Housing Director Mike Barros told the Durham Crime Cabinet Friday.

The Department of Housing and Community Development is working on several
initiatives to get residents involved in fixing their communities and
bringing more homeowners to neighborhoods filled mostly with rental
properties, Barros said.

The city is concentrating its efforts on areas surrounding new, publicly
funded housing developments such as the city-financed Gattis Street project
in the West End neighborhood and the $10 million rehabilitation of Barnes
Avenue in North East Central Durham, Barros said.

Housing inspectors have been visiting the areas around the projects to
identify what repairs must be made to improve the aging houses, Barros said.
Community relations staff have been knocking on doors, asking residents
about the positive aspects of their community and the challenges it faces,
Barros said.

Panacea doesn't exist

"There's no magic wand," he said. "Obviously we can't change everything ...
and part of it is the perception of the way it is, but we've got to start
somewhere."

If the city can improve the appearance of unsightly areas, Barros said,
criminals might feel less inclined to hang out there. It's part of the
"broken-windows theory" that says crime increases in blighted neighborhoods
because criminals think no one sees or cares.

Community relations workers are keeping an eye on rental properties in
targeted areas and trying to encourage first-time homebuyers to purchase
them when they become vacant, Barros said.

Do-it-yourself urged

The Housing Department also wants to encourage residents to help fix up
their own neighborhoods. The department is trying to develop a "mini-grant
program" that would offer up to $3,000 in federal housing money to people
who want to plant a community garden, paint their house or make other
repairs to improve the appearance of a neighborhood, Barros said.

The program would be administered through a nonprofit organization such as
the Durham Affordable Housing Coalition. The city would provide federal
dollars for the nonprofit group to distribute to different applicants, he
said.

"So often, people want to do a project, but they need $300 and they don't
have $300," Barros said in an interview.

The danger perception

The projects could foster relationships among neighbors, Barros said, which
would encourage them to take more pride in their neighborhoods. It might
also make them more likely to call police when they see suspicious activity,
he said.

"I don't see structures when I look at neighborhoods," Barros said.
"Neighborhoods are not made of houses, neighborhoods are made of people."

Crime Cabinet Co-chair Ellen Reckhow believes creating a feeling of
ownership in neighborhoods encourages residents to help rebuild their
communities. She said improving "housing conditions goes hand-in-hand with
improving the safety and the feeling of safety" in a neighborhood.

"Anytime a neighborhood looks blighted or unkempt there's also a perception
that it is unsafe, even if it isn't," Reckhow said after the meeting. "It's
absolutely essential that we view this in a broad manner."