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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8676INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS To the Mayor and Members of the City Council X. SUBJECT: THE SAFE CITY COMMISSION Y�T3 No. 8676 April 5, 2005 Page 1 of 2 On the City Council agenda for April 5, 2005, is a Mayor and Council Communication recommending authorizing the City Manager to discontinue the contract with the Crime Prevention Resource Center and authorizing a contract with the newly established Safe City Commission. Some of the background for this recommended City Council action is contained in this Informal Report. The Crime Prevention Resource Center Board of Directors voted on March 24, 2005, to dissolve the agency and recommended that the newly created Safe City Commission become the umbrella crime prevention agency for the area. This action marks the end of a twenty -five year chapter in crime prevention programming that began with the establishment of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce's Special Committee on Crime and the beginning of another with the ongoing development of the Safe City Commission. In 1980 the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce developed a Special Committee on Crime to solicit business involvement in developing solutions to local criminal justice problems. Its accomplishments included establishing the Fort Worth Citizens Organized Against Crime, a private citizens group that Ooordinated Fort Worth Crime Stoppers, and conducting local criminal justice forum meetings to ncrease cooperation among local criminal justice agencies. In 1988, the Chamber recognized that effective crime reduction needed to involve all segments of the community. The Tarrant County Crime Commission, Inc. received its official Certificate of Incorporation on August 9, 1989. On February 27, 1991, the agency officially amended its name to Citizens Crime Commission of Tarrant County. In November 1990, the Fort Worth City Council asked the Citizens Crime Commission to address the issue of increased gang activity in the city. The Commission held forums, brought interested people together and published Gangs in Tarrant County in October 1991. Using a contract employee, the Citizens Crime Commission coordinated gang prevention efforts throughout Tarrant County. A video on gangs in Tarrant County, Face to Face, was produced, providing a valuable tool for public education programs and increasing public awareness and community response. Commission staff collaborated with the City of Fort Worth in the design and implementation of a nationally recognized gang intervention program, Comin' Up, which is administered by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Fort Worth. In 1994 the Commission was awarded a grant from the Executive Office of Weed and Seed to initiate an AmeriCorps program. Before the program ended in December 1998, more than 100 young adults ages 17 to 24 from the Weed and Seed target areas were enrolled as members who ultimately gave more than 150,000 hours of service in the community to promote public safety. The Commission supported the City of Fort Worth's efforts to establish a Crime Control and Prevention District, which designated a half -cent from sales tax to be designated for crime control. -he Commission was included in the Zero Tolerance strategy of the district in Oct 1995. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER ^ i 5?(,l FORT WO T INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS To the Mayor and Members of the City Council G��R7iq�4 a SUBJECT: THE SAFE CITY COMMISSION „s No. 8676 April 5, 2005 Page 2 of 2 In May 1998, in response to recommendations of a TCU market study, the board changed the name of the agency to Crime Prevention Resource Center (CPRC). CPRC continued its mission by providing local training on biological warfare, cults, hate crimes, juvenile issues, and gangs. Capacity building continued with Community Leadership Development. CPRC hosted numerous satellite conferences on topics including community building, cultural diversity, gangs, juvenile violence, school safety, and weapons of mass destruction. CPRC created, printed and distributed thousands of crime prevention fliers. The agency supplied police officers, teachers and businesses with information on domestic violence, sexual assault, date rape, and other crime prevention topics as requested. During October of 2001, the CPRC relocated to 1201 West Lancaster along with six other non - profit agencies to create a collaboration of community services, Partnership for Change. The collaboration included Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Metroplex Chapter; Tarrant County Youth Collaboration; the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Fort Worth's Comin 'Up Program; the Shaken Baby Alliance; and Parents of Murdered Children, Inc. During 2003, Tarrant County CrimeStoppers came under the auspices of the CPRC. Unfortunately, expenses for the CPRC overran income to this non - profit group during 2004. Also, programming and coordination issues were raised by the Chief of Police. In September 2004, financial improprieties came to the attention of the City of Fort Worth. A city audit was completed in January 2005 that outlined severe mismanagement by the former Executive Director, who had been terminated in October 2004. CPRC struggled to meet its obligations during the period October 2004 through March 2005. CPRC did complete and distribute the gang video, Rolling Deep, and the operations of the CrimeStoppers program continued during this time. However, the Board of Directors determined that the damage to the agency was too great to continue. One of the programs administered by CPRC, Safe City, joined with the independent non - profit Fort Worth Bike Patrol Citizens Support Group to create the Safe City Commission under the board leadership of Joel Glenn. CrimeStoppers and the functioning crime prevention activities will operate under this new crime prevention umbrella agency. The Safe City Commission is working with City staff to develop its mission, establish a contract with the City, and institute sound financial and management practices. If you have any further questions, please contact Chief Ralph Mendoza at 817.392.4210. Charles R. Boswell City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS