Cleaning Up the Streets: Keeping Drugs Out of Your Neighborhood

It is part of the American dream, to live in a nice house in a safe neighborhood. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. Drugs of all kinds have made their way into almost all neighborhoods, impacting all socio-economic levels.

Nationally-recognized strategies do exist to help residents address problems of drugs, crime and gangs before they occur and when they arise. During this hour-long broadcast, see how community policing works in neighborhoods and how coalitions can help with the process. Learn some basics about gangs and gang activity, since many drug-related crimes are directly linked to gangs.

Also, see how the Weed and Seed strategy, a program supported by the Community Capacity Development Office of the Department of Justice, "weeds" out drug trafficking, violent crimes and related offenses through coordinated law enforcement and community policing efforts; and then "seeds" the designated areas with quality prevention, intervention and treatment programs. We'll travel to Atlanta where the Weed and Seed strategy is working to safeguard kids and transform neighborhoods.

We'll also see how people living in one neighborhood in Topeka, Kansas banded together to keep drugs off their streets, and learn some simple and inexpensive actions that neighborhood watch groups, concerned citizens and community coalitions can take to combat drugs in their midst.

Learning objectives

• Learn how community policing works and how coalitions can help
• See how the Weed and Seed strategy is making a difference
• Find out about how gangs and drugs are linked
• Learn the basics about drug gangs and how to spot them

Host

Mary Elizabeth Larson, Vice President, Communications and Membership, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)

Expert Panel

Dennis E. Greenhouse, Director, Community Capacity Development Office
Since May 2006, Dennis E. Greenhouse has been the Director of the Community Capacity Development Office, of which Weed & Seed is a part. Prior to this assignment, Greenhouse had been the Deputy Director of The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) since September of 2003. From 1999 to 2000, Greenhouse served as the Principal Deputy Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) at the Department of Justice. Before coming to the COPS Office, Greenhouse was Acting Deputy Director of the Bureau of State and Local Affairs for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Beverly Alford, Assistant Director of the Training and Technical Assistance Division at the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
Beverly Alford is responsible for monitoring, designing, implementing and assessing national community policing programs, and oversees COPS' national network of regional community policing training institutes. She has been with the COPS Office since 1996. Alford has an extensive background in community policing, and brings more than 26 years of law enforcement experience to the COPS Office. Before joining COPS, Alford held a variety of positions in the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC. She retired at the rank of Lieutenant. After her retirement from the Metropolitan Police Department, Alford served as a Senior Lead Instructor for the Haitian National Police Training Center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as a part of the United Nations' International Training Mission. Upon her return stateside, she worked as a Special Projects Manager for the Brady Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. Ms. Alford is a graduate of South Carolina State University.

Joseph Smith, Community Policing Officer, St. Petersburg Police Department, St. Petersburg
Joseph Smith is currently assigned to the largest inner-city community policing area in St. Petersburg. Smith has been with the St. Petersburg Police Department since 1982. During that time, he worked in the detective's bureau, where he was assigned as a child abuse investigator. He has worked as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Officer, Patrol Officer, Housing Authority Officer and Acting Street Supervisor. Smith holds a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Saint Leo University and is currently in the process of obtaining his MBA. He is a State of Florida Certified Instructor for several law enforcement subjects. In 2003, the St. Petersburg Optimist Club named Mr. Smith as "Police Officer of the Year." He is also the director of a local summer youth program attended by more than 350 youths.

Tim Guerrette, Collier County, FL Sheriff's Office, Gangs Expert
Tim Guerrette is currently employed in an area of about 95,000 residents known for its high street gang and drug activity. Guerrette has been working as a law enforcement officer since 1989 in several different capacities including as a school resource officer. In 1996, Guerrette started working in the agency's criminal intelligence bureau as a street gang investigator and in 1999, he was selected to head the agency's Street Gang Unit. Guerrette is a current and past board member of the Florida Gang Investigators Association. He has been a graduate of several advanced learning, leadership and development courses and most recently graduated from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Leadership Academy in Tallahassee, FL. He currently attends Edison College in Ft. Myers, FL.