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Weed & Seed Strategy Evaluation Report
November 2004

Executive Summary: Key Recommendations

  A successful Weed and Seed Strategy must involve four major elements from the target community: 1) law enforcement, 2) community policing, 3) prevention, intervention, and treatment for those living in the target community, and 4) neighborhood restoration. (NCJ #187193, p. 2) Employing these four elements involves implementation of four key strategies: 1) geographic assignment of law enforcement, 2) partnerships with multiple agencies, 3) emphasis on prevention, and 4) proactive problem-solving with inclusion of neighborhood residents. (NCJ 187193, pp.141-142).

  Pursuit of the preceding in the Alton Weed and Seed Strategy has involved the four foundation principles key to Weed and Seed: 1) establishing collaboration with a wide variety of partners, 2) ensuring coordination among partners in the collaboration, 3) active pursuit of the community’s participation, and 4) leveraging resources from multiple sources and in multiple forms. (NCJ 187193, pp. 4-5; NCJ 189318) The evaluation of the Alton Weed and Seed Strategy assessed the degree to which the strategy has remained true to the principles, the four key strategies, and the four major elements central to Weed and Seed.

  Key findings and recommendations reported to the Steering Committee, the Site Coordinator, various committees, and other stakeholders include the following:

1. Continue what has been successful “weeding” through law enforcement strategies but focus as well special attention on “seeding” activities an equally broadly based set of other organizations.

2. Work with the Alton Police Department to extend the reach of and ensure that community policing is a central feature of the Alton Weed and Seed Strategy.

3. Focus attention and address what needs to be faced to ensure that the Alton Weed and Seed Steering Committee works fully and properly.

4. Ensure that the Steering Committee has functioning task forces and committees that do its work, connect it to the community, and that can recommend sensible courses of action to its membership:

5. In particular, the Steering Committee must have in place a working youth committee.

6. Address the need for and take steps to ensure active community involvement and engagement in Weed and Seed.

7. Improve communication and contact between Weed and Seed and the community.

8. Get Weed and Seed out of the basement and into a more visible location.

9. Improve Weed and Seed’s abilities at coordination, i.e., put in place and fully support a Site Coordinator whose primary jog is exactly that---to coordinate all aspects of the program, the contacts and communication between partners, and especially the relationship of Weed and Seed and its partners to the community it serves.

10. Insist that the Site Coordinator as well as others “get out of the office,” work in the community, and enlist the support of existing community-based groups or organizations in the Weed and Seed effort.

11. Continue to clarify roles, responsibilities, and lines of authority and accountability, i.e., pay attention to and clarify processes and procedures.

12. Make necessary and sufficient adjustment in the Alton Weed and Seed to ensure not only success now but the possibility of sustaining the program beyond its current end date.

the full Evaluation Report available here in Word format

Alton Weed & Seed Strategy
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