PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Pueblo, Colorado, a former steel town, has changed into an ethnically-diverse, economically stable community that has experienced significant growth in the past decade. However, accompanying this growth has been an increase in crime, drugs, and gangs, especially during the past five years. It had become clear that traditional methods of policing were not completely effective in addressing the serious problems of crime, much less the problems of disorder and neglect that can eventually lead to serious crime.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the Community Policing Partnership, developed in 1996, was to transform the two law enforcement organizations in the area, the Pueblo County Sheriff's Department and the Pueblo Police Department, from the more traditional policing approach of responding to incidents after they had occurred, to a community-oriented approach. While crime control and prevention remained central priorities, community policing strategies used a wide variety of methods to address these goals and priorities.

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Under the direction of the Pueblo County Sheriff's Department, the leadership within the county developed a transformation formula for community policing and community outreach programs that involved a major shift in the organizational cultures of the local law enforcement agencies, changing the way law enforcement did business, from planning to hiring to enforcement activities. This new approach involved forming a partnership between law enforcement and citizens, resulting in community-focused programs and activities. These included:

• The Pueblo Area Drug Abuse Council's Red Ribbon Subcommittee worked to promote drug-free lifestyles, particularly focusing on junior and senior high-school students during spring time and end-of-year activities
• The Drive Smart Pueblo program targeted junior and senior high-school students at risk for drinking- and drug-related vehicle crashes
• After a problem-solving meeting with 25 residents, the Pueblo County Roads and Bridges department agreed to install stop signs at every intersection in the area, and submitted a request to the Colorado Department of Transportation to install a stoplight at a major intersection. A meeting between the community police officer and local businesses produced an agreement to locate alternative routes for oversized business vehicles
• After a letter-writing campaign to the County Commission, complaining about speeding, a mobile message board was purchased for use in problem areas, and the Traffic Awareness Program (TAP) was funded for the purchase of four radar guns
• Drug Free School Zones were established at local schools and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program presented to students. In addition, officers provided anti- impaired driving training
• More than 30 education/prevention programs were delivered in churches, at Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts meetings, at women's clubs, at discount stores, to community service groups, at child care centers, at community fairs, and at open houses
• Community police officers hosted 12 Pueblo Senior Safety Program meetings, 12 Drive Smart Pueblo meetings, and sponsored 10 community activities with the local Explorers scouts
• The Sheriff's Youth Advisory Council sponsored an alcohol-free school dance which attracted over 900 students ages 12 to 19

RESULTS Pueblo County has served as a model of community policing in Colorado, with measurable accomplishments such as no students involved in a DUI or DUI-related crash during 1996 and no alcohol-related fatalities during the prom and graduation season.

FUNDING   Department of Justice: $150,000   County:   $35,000 CONTACT     Dave Pettinari, Commander Pueblo County Sheriff's Department 909 Court Street Pueblo, CO 81003 (719) 583-6125