NEIGHBORHOOD HOT SPOT CAMPAIGNS

One of the safest and easiest ways to get neighborhood residents involved is by starting a hot spot campaign. The hot spot card provides a safe way for residents to report to police suspicious activity in their neighborhood. Although the police might be aware of the activity once the community says it is a problem the police are more likely to give it more attention. It gives your organization a means to follow-up with police for a report back regarding specific police activity.

The Hot Spot Card is a fundamental tool that a community can use in its initial efforts to close a drug-dealing location.

The purpose of the hot-spot card is to:

• Give residents the opportunity to anonymously report suspicious activity.

• Alert police to suspicious activity. Even if the police know about the location it alerts them that the community knows and wants something done about it.

• Give your organization a reason to have a follow-up meetings with the police.

• Empowers residents to rid the neighborhood of drug activity.

Each community sets up its system in way that meets its needs, but the basics of establishing a hot spot card program are:

• Notifying the police you are starting a neighborhood safety program and getting their support.

• Developing a means for distributing the hot spot cards.

• Arranging for a public announcement in the neighborhood about the creation of the hot spot cards.