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| Juvenile Justice |
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The New York City Police Department is using unconventional tactics to reach juveniles who are at risk of engaging in criminal activity. Under the Juvenile Robbery Intervention Program, detectives make house calls, check in with juveniles at school, shout hello to them in the neighborhood, and do favors for their families. Detectives also create dossiers of their street names, friends, acquaintances, and activities, akin to the flow charts used for tracking organized crime. Tracking is also carried out by monitoring juveniles’ social media activity by creating dummy profiles. While the program only involves a few hundred teenagers in East Harlem and Brownsville, Brooklyn, it has attracted notice from other cities across the country.
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| Sanitation |
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In Canada, the city of Edmonton, Alberta, plans to make some extra money by selling its waste management expertise to other countries through Waste RE-Solutions Edmonton, a newly created city agency. The agency, which was chartered with $1.1 million in taxpayer seed money, will disseminate the city’s knowledge of recycling, e-waste processing, and garbage handling systems to other cities such as Beijing. Officials hope the initial investment will reap economic benefits for Edmonton in the long-term.
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| Policing and Crime Prevention |
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The Cambridge Police Department in Massachusetts is introducing real-time tweets to report neighborhood crimes to residents as they occur. Through the use of 24/7 automated messaging, tweets will be sent about high-profile incidents such as fights, break-ins, or other emergency situations so residents know what’s happening when they see or hear squad cars passing by. Seattle unveiled a similar messaging system last October.
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| Technology |
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The Missouri Department of Transportation is projected to save at least $500 million in five years, largely through the deployment of social and mobile technologies. Strategies include using social media channels to update the public, reducing communications costs; wirelessly outfitting department buildings and roadside access points for employees to save them time when accessing information; and encouraging public involvement by posting all plans online and allowing commenting. Plans for the future include using contextual analytics and launching an internal social network for employees to foster collaboration.
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| Public Safety |
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In Georgia, Marietta Public Schools have installed “panic buttons” in all of its schools to increase the safety of students and staff. Officials pushing the buttons will immediately make contact with 911, which will automatically dispatch police. Schools nationwide have requested assistance from Marietta in order to learn from their experience.
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| When Public-Private Partnerships Are a Bad Idea |
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Public-private partnerships can bring big benefits, but only when combined with fiscal responsibility. A city in desperate need of cash is hardly well-positioned to negotiate the best PPP deal, while governments that aren't desperate don't pursue them often enough.
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| The Game-Changing Potential of Universal Preschool |
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Done right, universal preschool would both save a lot of money in the long run and benefit not only poor students but their communities as well. Effective early childhood education reduces the need for highly expensive special ed, and the savings come back almost immediately to a school district. In effect, preschool can pay for itself.
Newsletter produced by: Jessica Engelman, editor; Brendan St. Amant, researcher and writer.
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About the Ash Center
The Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence in governance and strengthens democratic institutions worldwide. Through its research, education, international programs, and government innovations awards, the Center fosters creative and effective problem solving and serves as a catalyst for addressing many of the most pressing needs of the world's citizens. The Ford Foundation is a founding donor of the Center. Additional information about the Ash Center is available at http://ash.harvard.edu.
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