SITE OVERVIEW ♦ CHARLESTON | WEST VIRGINIA
Target Area: West Side District • Population: 30,000
Fiscal Agent: City of Charleston
Research Partner: Office of Research and Strategic Planning (ORSP) at the West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services
Crime Concerns: Drug-related crimes, robbery, burglary, and other violent crimes
BCJI Funding Year: 2012 Planning & Enhancement
Neighborhood Profile
Charleston is the largest metropolitan area in West Virginia. While there are stable and affluent families in this area with many community resources, the city of Charleston also has many characteristics of urban life: low income housing projects, high ethnic heterogeneity, and high rates of residential mobility, homelessness, sub-standard housing, and unemployment. Together, these factors have contributed to the development of drug markets and a breakdown in informal social controls in the community.
The West Side District in particular is the city’s most crime-ridden area. In 2011, nearly 40 percent of all arrests occurred in the target area. Drug-related arrests are also an issue. In 2011, the Charleston Police Department reported 969 drug-related arrests compared to 706 in 2010. In addition, the Charleston Police Department uncovered 22 methamphetamine labs in 2011.
Planning Process
The BCJI planning process examined ways to build on a pilot drug market intervention effort underway in the target area. Central to the work was a “Neighborhoods of Opportunity Planning Committee” comprising residents, business owners and cross-sector partners. The Committee worked with law enforcement leaders and researchers over several months to gather community input via surveys and meetings, and then analyze problems to uncover causes and potential solutions. Priority issues included crime prevention; residential blight; trash and litter; limited neighborhood amenities; and access to services. All of these themes are interlaced with the main goal of the drug market intervention, which is to “return the neighborhood to the residents”.
Implementation Strategies
The BCJI team began implementation of “Second Chance” in early 2014, using community-oriented approaches to build trust, facilitate a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources, enhance the perception within the community about the fairness and effectiveness of policies and interventions, and increase the willingness of the community and those in the criminal justice system to comply with the social customs in the community. Fundamental to the work was the continued implementation of the Drug Market Intervention strategy, using an evidence-based nine step process. This process included “call-in” notification meetings, at which offenders were notified that law enforcement officials were prepared to arrest and prosecute them if they continued illegal activity, but that support was available if they choose another path. Community members and service providers communicated offers of support along with demands that the damaging behavior stop. Partners ensured that follow up with offenders supported the messages of the call-in, and connected people with mentors and other support resources as possible.
Other implementation activities tapped into momentum from other community initiatives, and sought to better coordinate and market those efforts among partners and residents. These activities have included:
- Community clean-up days
- Litter/property code violation enforcement
- Farmer’s Market and Community Garden Marketing Campaigns
- Production of the West Side Community Resource Guide and Community Resource Fairs
Other Key Partners
Charleston Police Department, United States Attorney’s Office, Kanawha County Prosecutor’s Office, Kanawha Institute of Social Research and Action, New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, Prestera Center, Charleston Urban Renewal Authority, West Side Neighborhood Association, Charleston Planning Department, and West Side Main Street
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