Community Policing Partnership
SBFDC & HPD Build a Safer Community, Locally – and Abroad!
Strong bonds among residents and the police enable more effective crime prevention and response. In 2009, SBFDC and HPD collaborated to launch a community-policing model, “HIP” (Hispanic Interaction Program).
Every 3rd Wednesday, in the morning and the evening, Houston Police officers visit our on-site Adult ESL classes, where they host a discussion, present a relevant topic, and address concerns.
Through HIP, HPD opens up two-way communication, listens to community members’ struggles and perceptions, and provides valuable educational components. Over the past seven years, HIP meetings have engendered trust in the community, resulting in increased calls to service and more community participation in investigations.
The success of the HIP program at SBFDC encouraged HPD to begin similar community policing initiatives in other Houston communities. Additionally, other visiting police forces, including officers from Ecuador, have come to the SBFDC to learn what elements have made this partnership successful and can be applied in their own contexts.
Most recently, SBFDC hosted a Ukrainian Harvard Fellow researching effective community policing models to implement in Ukraine. Her HPD host told her, “If you want to see successful community policing in Houston, I have to take you to Spring Branch.“
We celebrate that, as a result of HIP, our community is safer and crime rates have decreased. There are many moving parts to building a healthy community and the SBFDC is thankful that HPD’s partnership is making a difference, locally, and abroad!
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