Program Profile: Weed and Seed (Miami, Fla.)

This is a community-based approach to reducing and preventing crime while revitalizing the community. This program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences in rates of violent crime between the treatment and comparison areas following the crackdown. However, drug offenses increased significantly in the treatment areas, compared with the comparison areas.

An Ineffective rating implies that implementing the program is unlikely to result in the intended outcome(s).

Program Goals

Weed and Seed was an initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice. It was a community-based approach to reducing and preventing crime while revitalizing the community.

Program Components/Key Personnel

Weed and Seed was designed to prevent, control, and reduce violent drug and gang activity in high-crime areas by having law enforcement and prosecutors work to “weed” out criminals. Community revitalization was encouraged by “seeding” human services that focused on prevention, intervention, and neighborhood development. Neighborhood revitalization efforts generally focused on economic development, employment opportunities for residents, and the physical environment of the neighborhood.

The multilevel approach encouraged by Weed and Seed depended on the participation of law enforcement, the use of community policing, the introduction of prevention and treatment interventions, and neighborhood revitalization efforts. The local U.S. Attorney’s Office played a key role, providing leadership to guide multiagency efforts and mobilize key stakeholders. Many sites developed joint task forces to help coordinate law enforcement agencies from all levels of government. Community policing efforts focused on engaging the community and used a problem-solving approach to tackle identified problems. Every site was required to have a Safe Haven, a multiservice center that provided both youth- and adult-oriented services. These were often housed in a school or a community center.

Target Site/Eligibility

Proposals to become official Weed and Seed sites were submitted to the Community Capacity Development Office, which oversaw and administered the program for the U.S. Department of Justice. The proposals were required to demonstrate local development efforts and a significant commitment on the part of the community. Sites that received approval were eligible for Weed and Seed funds and for preferred funding from federal agencies.

Additional Information

There were more than 250 Weed and Seed sites across the country, which varied dramatically in size (covering populations ranging from 3,000 to 50,000). However, new sites were not chosen for the 2009–2010 fiscal year, and by 2011, most of the existing sites were closing. Weed and Seed in the Southern District of Florida was first funded beginning in 1997. It started in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Fla., and began with a gang crackdown to shut down a violent narcotics distribution organization terrorizing that neighborhood. This crackdown resulted in the conviction of 38 gang members from two gangs. Many of the early activities of the Weed and Seed initiative focused on hot spots found in the Scott/Carver housing development and the dividing line between the city and county jurisdictions.

The Miami/Miami–Dade Weed and Seed community-based organization also managed a local Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which was a gun reduction partnership, and the Operation Save our Streets (or SOS) program, which focused on crime prevention through social development. “Seeding” activities included job fairs; school-based, drug use prevention programs; lead awareness campaigns; and neighborhood beautification projects.

Note: Dedicated federal funds for the Weed and Seed program was discontinued in fiscal year 2011 (FY11). Due to this funding situation, the Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO) closed at the end of FY11 and no new funding was awarded. However, CCDO provided programmatic management and oversight to existing grantees through the end of their grant awards.

Study

Roman and colleagues (2005) used an interrupted time series quasi-experimental design to assess the impact of the Weed and Seed crackdown program on levels of drug and violent crime. An important component of the evaluation was also to determine whether crime had been displaced from the treatment area in Miami, Fla., to other locations after the Weed and Seed crackdown and the closing of a public housing development in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood. To assess displacement, the researchers used the Bowers and Johnson (2003) weighted displacement quotient (or WDQ), which measured the relative size of diffusion of benefits or displacement (but not absolute size).

The evaluation included a total of 96 monthly counts of violent and drug crime (January 1995 through December 2002), half before and half after the Liberty City crackdown, for both the target and buffer areas. For the Scott/Carver housing development relocation, only crime rates were provided. The data was obtained from crime reports data from the Miami–Dade County Police Department in Florida (1995–2002) and from the City of Miami Police Department (July 1999 through December 2003). The analysis used two general categories of crimes: violent crimes (murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and drug offenses.

Analyses were conducted for treatment, displacement catchment (or buffer), and control areas, although the analyses were conducted independently so (for example) the rate of crime in the comparison area was not used as a predictor in the analysis for the treatment area. The inclusion of an autoregressive term in the autoregressive integrative moving average (or ARIMA) model meant that any systematic but unmeasured (insofar as data was not collected for them) time-varying effects should be accounted for.

Diffusion and Displacement

With regard to displacement of crime, Roman and colleagues (2005) did not find any statistically significant effects in relation to crime displacement following implementation of the Weed and Seed program. This finding indicates that crime neither increased in areas adjacent to the treatment areas nor moved from one part of the city to another.

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Following are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:

Street-Level Drug Law Enforcement

This practice includes targeted-policing approaches for reducing drug and drug-related offenses. This practice is rated Promising in reducing reported, drug-related calls for services and offenses against persons. This practice is rated Ineffective in reducing reported property offenses, public order calls for service, and total offenses.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

	Crime & Delinquency - Drug and alcohol offenses
	Crime & Delinquency - Violent offenses
	Crime & Delinquency - Property offenses
	Crime & Delinquency - Public order offenses
	Crime & Delinquency - Multiple crime/offense types

Why might a practice's outcome ratings differ from the ratings of specific programs encompassed by that practice?