How to Make Your Neighborhood Drug-Free

By eHow Health Editor

Rate: (7 Ratings)

Follow these guidelines to clean out your neighborhood - based on the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Education and the National Crime Prevention Council.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

Banners
Bonded Paper
Envelopes
Pens
Flyers
Flyers
Pens

Step1

Form a neighborhood watch group, a community patrol or block association. Recruit your neighbors to patrol the streets and record license-plate numbers of suspicious vehicles.

Step2

Work actively with the police. Invite them to your neighborhood meetings and inform them of suspicious activities.

Step3

Provide neighborhood young people with positive activities as alternatives to being involved with drugs.

Step4

Enlist the aid of your city public works department to clean up the streets. They can help put up bright lights, sweep up litter, paint over graffitti and plant flowers.

Step5

Put banners and signs, or even use a loudspeaker or bullhorn, to publicly broadcast to dealers that your community is alert to their activities.

Step6

Protest businesses and landlords who allow or ignore drug dealers and their actions.

Step7

Organize block parties and neighborhood volleyball games to show dealers a strong, united front.

Step8

Encourage your children! Reinforce anti-drug attitudes, and reassure your kids that you love them and that they don't need drugs.

Tips & Warnings

Drug dealers tend to avoid neighborhoods where the community stands united against their efforts, regardless of its level of affluence.
Leave policing to law enforcement officers. Getting involved with drug dealers or suspicious people who may be armed is dangerous.

Comments

Noalarasa said

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on 7/30/2008 Wow. All the other comments seem so familiar. We just moved in three weeks ago and are moving out now because of the drug dealers. Despite the nice look of the neighborhood they seem to be drawn to the small park on our block. Everyone is silent, neighbors say they tried, and tried but the cops need strong proof or they can't do much therefore the neighbors keep their lights off and try to ignore everything.

We've seen suspicious cars now from the first day we moved in. They don't get out, they always flick the lights on and off but as soon as anything startles them they leave. I tried to dismiss their activities until some louder disturbances happened. They lied to the cops about why, and the cops told me they know they were lying.

My problem? They park in front of my house everytime, no body else's, they have specific spots. My house is the top parking spot. They could park a

cs48066 said

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on 6/22/2007 I have drug dealers next door to me and when I called the police they told me next time I see them smoking pot or dealing to call 911 and then point them out. Oh sure like I don't want to get beat up or killed for doing that. There are 11 people living there in a 3 bedroom very small house, 4 of them are kids.

luvgod said

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on 6/20/2007 I just moved into a new home on a street that I owned a home for 7 years. Loved it so much, kept my first home, and bought another. Recently my neighbor across the street moved her grandson in. My sons truck was attempted stolen, and then I realized he is selling drugs. I have talked to police, but don't feel they will try to help much. I want to keep my kids safe but don't know what to do to get this stopped without retaliation. I don't know if she is aware of what is going on, and I would feel she would not believe me if I told her.

said

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on 9/10/2006 We have a family dealing in drugs...
Activity throughout the night
The police don't help. "Nothing is going on"
The community goes in and turns to look away.
They don't see anything.....
the street drugs are killing our children and communities look in a new direction.
I can't understand this.....
And then because I have tried to push them our, they file a complant with the police that Iam causing them trouble.
What to do
Oakville/Ontario

said

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on 11/22/2005 I had a problem on my street. Drug dealers felt comfortable and residents felt pressured to stay inside and do nothing. I anonymously wrote letters to all of the neighbors telling them where the activity was, who was involved, how to report it online to the police department, and who to call. It made everyone aware and the drug dealers got scared (since they lived there too). It was fun to see them so scared and we have had no trouble with them again.