Neighborhood Safety

Safety is a cornerstone of thriving neighborhoods, and it is about more than just the absence of crime. It is also about the opportunity for residents to build relationships with each other, vibrant public spaces, accessible social supports, infrastructure that supports resiliency in times of stress, and a shared trust between government and its constituents that allows for partnership at all levels. The City’s Neighborhood Affairs Division, in partnership with Tallahassee Police Department, the Tallahassee Fire Department and other City departments, works with neighborhoods to build partnerships that proactively enhance crime prevention, disaster response and safe community spaces.

The Plan for Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) program helps neighborhoods to better plan for and respond to hurricanes and other disasters. Neighborhoods can partner with Tallahassee Police Department to implement a Neighborhood Crime Watch to proactively foster a safe environment. The Neighborhood Public Safety Initiative (NPSI) addresses public safety in targeted neighborhoods through a focus on Crime Prevention and Education, Community Beautification, and Community Empowerment and Volunteerism. Neighborhood First is a resident-led process to develop comprehensive neighborhood plans to address safety and other community concerns.

In This Section

PREP (Plan for Readiness and Emergency Preparedness)

Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, and the City is actively preparing. Citizens play a vital role in surviving and recovering from a disaster, so residents should also make and review their emergency plans and preparations.

Neighborhood Public Safety Initiative

The Neighborhood Public Safety Initiative (NPSI) is a citizen-based program that seeks to address public safety through a focus on Crime Prevention and Education, Community Beautification, and Community Empowerment and Volunteerism. A key premise of the NPSI is that active community participation leads to safer neighborhoods. The NPSI is a collaborative effort of the local Public Safety Collective. The Public Safety Collective’s current members include the Tallahassee Police Department, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, FSU Police Department, FAMU Police Department, TCC Police Department, Capitol Police, the State Attorney’s Office, Big Bend Crime Stoppers, and the Tallahassee Fire Department.

This initiative will also be supported by several City departments, including Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs, Growth Management, and Community Beautification and Waste Management. Through this collaboration, the NPSI will encourage participating neighborhoods to actively engage in the creation of safer communities.

The Public Safety Collective piloted this effort in the Griffin Heights and Greater Frenchtown neighborhoods. These adjacent neighborhoods are in the northwest quadrant of the City, bordered by Alabama Street on the north, Bronough Street on the east, Tennessee Street on the south, and Basin Street on the west.

Citizen engagement is critical to the success of NPSI. In late August, the Public Safety Collective partnered with neighborhood leaders from Griffin Heights and Greater Frenchtown to hold a kickoff event. The kickoff was followed by weekly Community Action Team meetings in preparation of the October 28 Walk A Block Neighborhood Assessment event.

A Neighborhood Blitz will take place in the Griffin Heights and Greater Frenchtown neighborhoods the week of February 5, where City departments will be working block-by-block to address many of the issues identified during the neighborhood assessment. This will be followed by various neighborhood events that will be held by NPSI community partners.

In October 2017, the Public Safety Collective identified the Greater Bond community as the next NPSI neighborhood. The Greater Bond Community Action Team has met several times, and the official kickoff event will take place February 6 at the Smith-Williams Service Center Annex. The Greater Bond Neighborhood is in the southside of the City, bordered by North-FAMU Way, South-Orange Ave., East-Wahnish Way, West-Lake Bradford.

For additional information on the Neighborhood Public Safety Initiative contact 850-891-8795 or neighborhoods@talgov.com.