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Scholars in various disciplines are recommending comprehensive measures to solve multiple societal as well as individual problems. The philosophy of community education has been overlooked but is a workable, comprehensive approach to addressing crime. As used in this book, community education is a philosophy, process, and program comprised of three overriding and interrelated elements: community empowerment, community problem-solving, and the effort to involve all community members in the pursuit of lifelong learning.
The Hyde Park neighborhood in St. Louis has one of the highest rates of reported drug sales and high rates of homicide, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, and burglary. The community lays claim to several crime-inducing variables including population loss, a high percentage of population shift resulting in a higher percentage of black population and boarded-up housing units, a high rate of unemployment, a very low per capita income and a high percentage of citizens living below the poverty line, and a high percentage of female-headed households. Nevertheless, the people of Hyde Park are participating in a crime prevention approach that is applicable to all communities. Insights to urban life and problem solving are provided by community members, covering such topics as policing and how it can be improved. These insights and others offered by the author are supported by theories and philosophies found in the literature. In the process of solving their own problems, community members involve themselves in lifelong learning activities and leadership development. Written in a style that is appealing to the general public as well as academics, it is of special interest to educators, community leaders, criminologists, academics in urban affairs and sociology, social workers, law enforcement agents, and politicians.
List of contents
Illustrations
Introduction
Preventative Measures for the Foreground Causes of Criminal BehaviorA Theory of Crime Causation
Community Crime Preventions
The Hyde Park neighborhood
Policing in the Hyde Park Neighborhood: Racial Bias, Political Pressures, and Community Policing
Community Crime Prevention in Hyde Park: Confronting Foreground Causes of Criminal Behavior
Preventative Measures for the Background Causes of Criminal Behavior: A Community Education ApproachWhat is Community Education
Community Education Models: A Comparison
The Friedens Haus Coalition and Other Hyde Park Programs and Services
Political Awareness and Action
Community Empowerment
Inclusiveness
Citizen Councils
Leadership Development
Community Organzation and Problem Solving: The Economic Problem
The Housing Problem
Interagency Cooperation
Assessing Needs, Planning, and Evaluation
The Effort in Hyde Park to Involve Everyone in the Pursuit of Lifelong Learning
Leadership for Community Education
Summary
Bibliography
Index
About the author
CAROLYN SIEMENS WARD is assistant professor in educational and interdisciplinary studies at Western Illinois University./e A member of the National Community Education Association, she has taught graduate courses in the adult and community education fields. She has been a consultant for schools, school districts, colleges/universities, nonprofit organizations, a desegregation monitoring committee, and a state department of education.
