Community Safety Initiative
The Community Safety Initiative (CSI) is a collaboration between police departments and community development corporations to address persistent community crime and safety issues. The program was developed in 1994 by LISC in partnership with the Harvard University School of Government’s Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management and the Police Executive Research Forum as an experimental approach for integrating public safety and crime control strategies with those of community and economic development. The model has since proven highly successful.
The Rhode Island CSI will work with community development corporations and police departments in Providence, Pawtucket and Woonsocket. The overriding goal of the program is to develop strong and respectful community-police collaborations that effectively integrate public safety into the revitalization of targeted neighborhoods. Through creative problem solving techniques, partners create and implement specific, dynamic plans to resolve identified crime and safety problems. The program provides local partners with ongoing training, resources, and technical assistance from national and local experts.
For information on the RI CSI program contact Nancy Howard at nhoward@liscnet.org