Missouri Department of Corrections
St. Louis Community Release Center
1621 North First Street
St. Louis, MO 63102
314/877-0300
http://www.corrections.state.mo.us
The Department of Corrections is a law enforcement agency dedicated to public safety. Its responsibility is to administer the punishment set by the court at sentencing. The punishment must promote the longest lasting public safety at the lowest cost to taxpayers. Control of offenders sentenced to prison and probation or on parole is achieved by classification and supervision strategies appropriate to custody and community supervision. The St. Louis Community Release Center provides supervision, treatment programming, and intervention services for up to 500 offenders in their reintegration into the community as responsible citizens. It provides community service hours for offenders in many St. Louis agencies.
Neighborhood Stabilization Team (NST)
City Hall
Room 418
1200 Market Street
St. Louis, MO 63103
314/ 622-4628
http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/nst
The NST serves as a catalyst for bringing together autonomous City departments, the police, and neighborhood residents to solve neighborhood problems. There are 27 Neighborhood Stabilization Officers (NSOs), who serve all 79 City of St. Louis neighborhoods, and a six-member administrative team. This City department has a $1.9 million budget. The Citizens’ Service Bureau (CSB) is an arm of NST where residents can request action from City departments. Nine customer service representatives at the CSB respond to more than 100,000 calls and initiate 85,000 work orders annually. In addition, the NST co-sponsors a number of programs with Operation SafeStreet.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
1200 Clark Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63103
314/444-5555
http://www.stlouiscitypolicedept.org
The police department is responsible for the protection of life and property in the City. It compiles data on crimes, traffic offenses, juvenile delinquency, etc. The Department organizes a series of programs aimed toward educating the public on all aspects of crime prevention and awareness. It also sponsors Problem-Solving Training in conjunction with the City of St. Louis Neighborhood Stabilization Team to teach neighborhood residents, police officers, and police administrators to analyze, interpret, and act upon neighborhood-level crime data in an appropriate manner.
Aid for Victims of Crime (AVC)
4144 Lindell Blvd.
Suite #B-20
St. Louis, MO 63108
314/652-9641
http://web.stclair.k12.il.us/callforhelp/html/9.htm
AVC serves St. Louis City residents and those who are victims of crimes committed in the City. The organization offers emotional, physical, and financial assistance. Services include: personal emotional support; location of community resources; assistance with victim compensation claims and counseling services; criminal justice system advocacy; advocacy with creditors, employers, family and friends; information on victim issues and victim rights in Missouri; training and technical assistance for professionals; and crisis response team services for communities in crisis.
Weed and Seed Program
1114 Market St.
Room 401
St. Louis, MO 63101
314/539-2309
A national program administered by the Department of Justice, the comprehensive approach of Weed and Seed dictates a multi-level action plan. There are four basic elements in this plan: law enforcement; community policing; prevention, intervention, and treatment; and neighborhood restoration. The Weed and Seed strategy has been fully implemented in four St. Louis neighborhoods: Fox Park, Benton Park West, Fountain Park, and Lewis Place. Safe havens have been designated in the two Community Education Centers which service these areas. Cleanup campaigns have been conducted in all neighborhoods and the Missouri National Guard has conducted demolition activities to rid these areas of vacant or derelict housing that had been used to facilitate street level drug traffic. Some of the local programs offered through Operation Weed and Seed include Overtime Police Patrols, Operation Gangbusters, Youth Employment Initiative, and DEFY (Drug Education for Youth).
Operation SafeStreet
City Hall, Room 422
1200 Market Street
St. Louis, MO 63103
314/622-3444
Operation SafeStreet is a non-profit cooperative anti-crime program involving the City of St. Louis Department of Public Safety and the mayor’s office. The program sponsors Team Sweep, a volunteer force of children ages 8 through 16 that assist in neighborhood improvement and clean-up projects. Operation SafeStreet has provided anti-theft devices for automobiles to low-income residents, disabled residents, and people who have been victims of car theft.
St. Louis Drug Courts
The City of St. Louis and six counties in Missouri have drug courts. Prosecutors defer prosecution against offenders who enter the court and begin a closely monitored and lengthy drug treatment program. The clients appear weekly before a drug court judge or commissioner and are immediately sanctioned for missing treatment or not turning in a urinalysis. The St. Louis Drug Court has doubled its alcohol and drug treatment success rate and tripled the average length of stay in treatment programs. It has also increased the percentage of those who complete a treatment program with a job from 7% to 70% and reduced the number of repeat-offenders from 35% to 1%.