The Edison-Eastlake Community (EEC) has experienced decades of disinvestment and social and economic challenges, including violent crime, excessive vacant land, and a lack of neighborhood amenities. This state of affairs has led to persistently high substance-use issues and violent, property, and sexual crimes. Crime data from 2020 indicated that the EEC Part 1 violent crime rate was 3.7 times higher than the rest of the city, and Part 1 property crimes were 1.7 times higher. The EEC also has high incidences of sexual abuse and assault, molestation, and indecent exposure, yet according to the police department and residents, many sex crimes go unreported. The community is also affected by the easy availability of drugs like fentanyl and heroin, sold and consumed in vacant land and under freeways, which attract the transient population.  

The most common citizen-initiated calls for service in the EEC relate to violence in the community (e.g., fights, assaults, and domestic violence). The number of calls likely underestimates the rate of domestic violence in the community, as family violence often goes unreported. High street and family violence levels suggest that youth are at significant risk of involvement in or exposure to violent crime. 

Today, the EEC is characterized by a mix of residential and commercial properties, many of which have industrial uses. Since 2010, the City of Phoenix Housing Department has gained momentum in focusing on issues in the EEC due to the need to address aging and obsolete public housing communities. A 2017 retail market study noted that EEC could support more resident-desired retail; however, decreased crime and increased household income are necessary precursors to attracting economic investment. Social factors, including drug addiction, a lack of community cohesion, and unsuccessful community policing strategies, have impeded crime reduction efforts. Residents and community stakeholders all agree that there is much opportunity to strategically enhance community-police relationships in ways that will effectively address crime and crime drivers.  

During the planning phase, Housing and Arizona State University (ASU) will engage in intentional community outreach and establish an EEC-BCJI Advisory Council, including cross-sector partners, community residents, the Phoenix Police Department, and ASU. The Advisory Council aims to build the collaborative infrastructure needed to identify, create, and implement strategies responsive to the BCJI model. During the planning phase, the project will meaningfully engage residents, coordinate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) team, and create program objectives and an overall strategy to align with the BCJI model,  

The Phoenix team seeks to reach the following goals:  

• Use multifaceted research and diverse data sources to analyze crime conditions, drivers of crime, and chronic crime hot spots, with the findings guiding the refinement and evaluation of the EEC-BCJI Action Plan to tackle these issues with evidence-based and innovative solutions.  

• Build the capacity of community and cross-sector partners to leverage resources, collaboratively engage in problem-solving to address serious and violent crimes, and implement, monitor, and evaluate interventions.  

• Use trust-building efforts focusing on youth to improve relationships between community residents and police.  

• Reduce serious, violent, and chronic crime and victimization by incorporating sustainable, safety-focused strategies that combat, address, prevent, and deter criminal activity while revitalizing the EEC.  

The following EEC-BCJI program objectives correspond to the overarching goals and have been designed to address serious crime and safety issues:   

• Examine quantitative and qualitative data related to crime and safety in the EEC for a comprehensive understanding of criminal activity and social drivers of crime. 

• Convene and organize cross-sector partners and community residents to increase knowledge of crime, safety, and trauma; facilitate proactive partnerships for crime prevention; and build community capacity to deter criminal activity through engagement and participation in prosocial safety programming.  

• Repair, build, and increase trust between the community and police.  

• Reduce and prevent serious and violent crimes in the EEC by using a multi-pronged approach, including creating problem-oriented, community-engaged, place-based responses to violent and property crime in micro hot spots; interrupting cycles of violence among high-risk individuals; and addressing built environment and social disorganization factors.  

• Reduce and prevent crimes, sexual assaults, and intimate partner and domestic violence. Reduce youth involvement in selling and using drugs.  

• Understand the effectiveness of the inventions on decreasing violence, improving safety, and addressing drivers of crime through rigorous evaluation research.  

The Housing Coalition of Service Providers (CSP), Phoenix Police Department, local nonprofits, education organizations, local businesses, neighborhood associations, community residents