Selma’s TRUSTBuild program
Winner, Public Service category
In an effort to build bridges between citizens in need and the agencies providing community and social services, the City of Selma implemented a strategy to build trust and promote community pride while providing a safe, secure community for all its citizens: TRUSTBuild (Teaming to Restore Unity, Safety and Trust). The objectives of this community development and outreach-based strategy are: identifying code violations and nuisances; educating citizens on city ordinances and codes; reducing crime through community policing; and connecting citizens to available community resources.
TRUSTBuild was implemented in three phases: 1. Neighborhood Sweeps; 2. Community Outreach; and 3. Operation CLEO (Community Law Enforcement and Outreach). Neighborhood Sweeps involves four teams visiting neighborhoods one week per quarter to identify code and nuisance violations. Community Outreach is a new department that involves six teams consisting of police officers and community liaisons visiting citizens in their homes and neighborhoods in assigned zones on a daily basis. Operation CLEO targets smaller, concentrated areas that may encompass more than one zone and are believed to have a high potential crime element. This strategy places a mobile police unit in the heart of the potential crime area for 30 days. Since the inception of TRUSTBuild, 3,336 code violations have been identified and teams have visited 3,410 citizens. In addition, Selma’s TRUSTBuild received a Silver Award for the 2007 National League of Cities Awards for Municipal Excellence.