Building Police-Community Relations to Address Safety Within South L.A.

[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] The American Heart Association is an organization that provides programs and services to improve cardiovascular health across the nation. Within the American Heart Association is the Community S.T.E.P.S (Strategic Dialogue That's Empowered by Public Safety) program, which integrates nutrition education and physical activity to improve community health. The organization also recognizes the disparities in social determinants of health and engages residents and police officers in South Los Angeles, a region within Los Angeles County with the highest rates of crime and violence. According to the literature, the presence of crime and violence in neighborhoods affects an individual's perception of safety, discouraging them from going outdoors, utilizing parks and recreation, and building relationships within the community, which can impact health. A conceptual framework that drives this intervention are from the theories of Social Cognitive Theory and Community Mobilization. The goal is to increase the perception of safety of residents in the Harvard Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles. The objectives are to build a local coalition, practice collaborative participation behavior with police, and to increase residents' collective efficacy. To achieve this, a neighborhood safety strategy will be proposed to add an activity that addresses crime and violence, specifically by building trust and shared problem solving. Mixed methods, using surveys and interviews, will be used to conduct a formative and summative evaluation of the program. This intervention will build relationships among community members and increase perceived safety.