targets specific areas known to have problems, placing more officers, more resources and more patrols in those areas. Law enforcement works with the business community and residents to establish neighborhood watches, called "Safe Neighborhood Advisory Councils," to deter and report crime. Intense focus is also put on so-called quality of life crimes, such as drug dealing and prostitution, which can have a serious negative impact on the neighborhood. In addition, the attorney general's office and the district attorney's office assign prosecutors who work solely on cases arising out of their particular safe neighborhood target area.
In addition, the Massachusetts Attorney General's office has also concentrated resources on youth violence prevention efforts. The office runs a student mediation program which teaches students to discuss problems rather than fighting. The program is in place in several schools statewide and has resulted in a dramatic turnaround in those schools.19
Some of these same proposals - community-oriented-policing, targeting specific areas of crime and conflict resolution -- are already implemented in several communities throughout California. These programs, working together with "Three Strikes and You're Out," have led to California's dramatic drop in crime.
19Massachusetts Attorney General's office, March 3. 1998.
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