246 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
246 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
October 1990
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OPERATION CLEAN:
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RECLAIMING CITY NEIGHBORHOODS
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By
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Richard W. Hatler
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Deputy Chief
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Dallas, Texas, Police Department
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Dallas, Texas, faces the same problems as many other cities
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around the country. It has experienced the devastation of whole
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neighborhoods as drugs, particularly crack cocaine, destroy old
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ways of life and replace them with violence, thievery, and a
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feeling of hopelessness. One by one, communities in Dallas fell
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to drug dealers, only to become darkened marketplaces of the drug
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trade.
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To curb the growing tide of urban deterioration, the Dallas
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Police Department embarked on a broad-based program designed to
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reclaim neighborhoods and rid communities of the drug dealers who
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were responsible for most other crimes. Through Operation CLEAN
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(Community and Law Enforcement Against Narcotics), the Dallas
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Police Department serves as the catalyst for change, coordinating
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the full resources of the city toward target neighborhoods. The
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goal of this campaign is to return control of neighborhoods to
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the law-abiding residents who had been forced to surrender their
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communities to drug dealers.
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OPERATIONAL COMPONENTS
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The success of Operation CLEAN depends on the total support
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of the police department and city administrators. Fiscal
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efficiency is very important since many of the operations
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require large outlays of funds that should not be diverted from
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other programs. Therefore, it is essential that all
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participating city agencies work together to provide required
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services. Several municipal departments work together to make up
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Operation CLEAN components (the CLEAN Team), and each has
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specific responsibilities:
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* The police department is responsible for the removal of
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drug dealers, crime prevention training, intensive 24-
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hour personnel deployment, and coordination of Operation
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CLEAN activities.
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* The fire department checks properties for fire code
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violations and orders the closing of unoccupied
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buildings with safety violations.
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* The streets and sanitation department is responsible for
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the general clean-up of target areas; clearing alleys,
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trimming trees, and removing discarded furniture used by
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drug dealers.
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* The housing and neighborhood services department is
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responsible for strictly enforcing applicable city
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codes, referring unsalvageable properties to the Urban
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Rehabilitation Standards Board for demolition, and
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working with outside groups to obtain vacant lots for
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housing units.
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* The city attorney's office provides vigorous prosecution
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of code violations and aggressively seizes abandoned
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properties.
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Each component of the CLEAN Team is critical to the success
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of the operation. The CLEAN Team approaches neighborhood
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involvement with an eye toward addressing quality-of-life issues
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within the target area.
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TARGET SELECTION
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It is very important that a jurisdiction has sufficient
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resources to substantially impact the target area. The size of
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the neighborhood and the population density must be considered.
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In Dallas, it was determined that a target area should include no
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more than 10 square city blocks. Preliminary statistics and
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intelligence information concerning crime levels in the target
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area must be accurate so that adequate manpower can be devoted to
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the operation. The selected area should be large enough so that
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a significant impact can be made, but not so large that available
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resources are insufficient to accomplish the operation's
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objectives.
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The CLEAN Team established certain criteria that each target
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neighborhood had to meet before it could be accepted into the
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program. To be considered, an area had to be experiencing a high
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level of drug use and street distribution, a high crime level,
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and a high number of calls for police service. It was also
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determined that Operation CLEAN would be most effective in
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primarily residential areas, rather than industrial or business
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communities. This is due largely to the cooperative nature of
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the campaign and the need to ensure participation by all CLEAN
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Team components. To select an industrial area, for example,
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would limit the participation of the housing and neighborhood
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services department and could result in a loss of interest by the
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department in future operations.
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Another important consideration when selecting a target area
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is the attitude and potential of residents and business leaders
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in the area. An important element in the operation is the
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willingness of neighborhood residents to take control of their
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own communities. The greater the willingness of the residents to
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take control, the greater the probability that a long-term
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solution will result.
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IMPLEMENTATION
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Each Operation CLEAN project has basically seven phases.
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The level and type of activity varies in each phase.
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* PHASE ONE--The most appropriate target area is selected.
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Because undercover operations will begin in phase two,
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only selected individuals within the police department
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are involved in this decision process. The other CLEAN
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Team departments are not advised of the target area
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until phase three.
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* PHASE TWO--Narcotics Division detectives infiltrate the
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target area. Detectives make undercover buys and use
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confidential informants to obtain information for search
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and arrest warrants. This phase normally lasts 5 to 14
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days. The objective is to identify as many drug
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dealers, drug distributors, and drug dealing locations
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as possible.
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* PHASE THREE--This is the first overt enforcement phase,
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which is initiated by executing simultaneously all
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search and arrest warrants within the target area.
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Uniformed officers, plainclothes detectives, and canine
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and horse patrols saturate the neighborhood so that the
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police department has almost total control of the target
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area. In Dallas, as many as 100 officers are normally
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involved in this phase. The news media is contacted
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prior to implementation, so that extensive media
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exposure will accompany this phase. The objective of
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this phase is to remove as many drug dealers from the
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target area as possible.
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* PHASE FOUR--Phase Four begins as phase three is being
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executed. During this phase, eight uniformed officers
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and a sergeant are assigned specifically to the target
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area 24 hours a day. A total of 24 officers and 3
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sergeants are assigned to the area to cover all three
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shifts. This phase lasts 2 weeks.
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During this phase, officers take aggressive enforcement
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action against all criminal activity, including traffic
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violations. The objective is to disrupt the pattern of
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criminal activity that has existed in the area.
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Also during this phase, all CLEAN Team departments meet
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to discuss and visit the target area. All team members
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become active during phase four. Personnel from the
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Community Services Division begin to organize local
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residents into Crime Watch groups. One important
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component of this phase is to inform the residents of
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the target area of the objectives of the CLEAN Team.
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* PHASE FIVE--This phase is a continuation of phase four,
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but the intensive police contingency is reduced to
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operating 16 hours per day. Other Operation CLEAN
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efforts continue. During this phase, which lasts 2
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weeks, control of the target area is gradually
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transferred to legitimate community members.
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* PHASE SIX--This is a continuation of phase five, except
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that the police contingency is further reduced. One
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shift of eight officers and a sergeant is assigned
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during the most active 8-hour period, usually in the
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evening. A walking beat is established and will
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continue after the operation has been completed. Other
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team members complete their activities. Increased
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control is transferred to community residents.
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* PHASE SEVEN--This is the follow-up and evaluation phase.
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Any needs identified in earlier stages that have not
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been met will be assigned to specific individuals. Each
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team member critiques the success of the operation and
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cites where future improvement can be made. An
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operational report is prepared and forwarded to the city
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manager's office.
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RESULTS
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Since the adoption of the program, there have been several
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Operation CLEAN projects. Operation CLEAN I was initiated on
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March 11, 1989. The target area was a 6-square block
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neighborhood used by drug dealers and overrun by violence and
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criminal activity. In the 6-week period prior to March 11th, a
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total of 336 calls for police service had been received from the
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area. There had been 26 violent crimes and 9 property crimes
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reported during this period. In addition, the department
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continually received reports of gunfire in the area, both day and
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night.
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During the execution of 14 search warrants in the third
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phase of Operation CLEAN I, 630 packets of crack cocaine and 76
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packets of marijuana were seized. Several weapons were also
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confiscated. During phase four, 289 arrests were made and 200
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traffic citations issued. An additional 106 arrests were made
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during phase five, and 39 arrests were made in phase six.
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During the 6 weeks of Operation CLEAN I, the number of calls
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for police service decreased 40 percent and Crime Index offenses
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were reduced by 71 percent.
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When Operation CLEAN I was completed in May 1989, many
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significant changes to the target area had been realized.
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Criminal activity in the target area had been significantly
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reduced, the neighborhood had been cleared of 1,000 cubic yards
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of debris, and construction began on new buildings that replaced
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dilapidated structures. An active Crime Watch Program was
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created, and most important, concerned citizens regained control
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of their neighborhood. Overall, there has been a dramatic
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improvement in the quality of life in the target area as a result
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of Operation CLEAN I.
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CONCLUSION
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As Operation CLEAN demonstrates, local law enforcement can
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work with other city departments to improve the quality of life
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for residents living in areas overrun by drug dealing and
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violence. In Dallas, the police department decided to take a
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lead role in coordinating these efforts.
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Because Operation CLEAN is manpower intensive, its
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effectiveness depends on the willingness of both city council and
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police managers to devote appropriate resources. As past
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Operation CLEAN projects demonstrate, however, these expenditures
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result in reductions in calls for police service and a decrease
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in criminal activity in target areas. In the long-term, this
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will save patrol and investigative resources that can be used
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elsewhere in the police budget.
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As more communities become affected by the drug problem,
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public calls for innovative programs and new initiatives to
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combat rising criminal activity will require law enforcement
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agencies around the country to rethink existing strategies. The
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Operation CLEAN program is one approach to reclaim lost
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communities.
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