In 2010 the Sheboygan Police Department developed a new community based, neighborhood focused, data driven, and preventative policing strategy. The measure of success is not by the number of arrests or response times but by the vitality of the neighborhoods and the absence of crime. The goal of community policing is to create a reduction in overall reports of crime.
The city is divided into different neighborhoods with each neighborhood assigned a neighborhood officer. Neighborhoods are encouraged to hold neighborhood meetings. Different neighborhoods have different problems and concerns. The Sheboygan Police Department partnered with Sheboygan Neighborhood Pride to develop neighborhood associations. Many of the 72 identified neighborhoods have held regular meetings, to date three neighborhoods: Gateway, Ellis, and North Flats have asked the City for formal neighborhood status.
A neighborhood association is simply a group of neighbors in a designated area of the City who have decided to work together to improve their neighborhood. Associations include homeowners, renters, and landlords, as well as representatives from businesses, faith-based groups, non-profits, and schools. Members get together to discuss issues and identify solutions to address those concerns. Through their work, members develop the stability, credibility, and political influence necessary to be an effective force in making a stronger neighborhood. Depending on the goals of the group, meetings may be held twice a year, once a quarter, or every month.
To meet the challenge of transitioning more neighborhoods to association status, the Mayor’s Neighborhood Leadership Cabinet (MNLC) was formed in July of 2014 to strengthen and support neighborhood associations in the City. The MNLC meets on the 3rd Tuesday of odd months with the three recognized neighborhood associations Gateway, Ellis, and North Flats. The MNLC works to assist and develop the leadership of these associations through a direct connection to the Mayor and city staff, offering meeting programs to educate participants about city departments and policies, mini-grants to assist the associations, and a forum to share best practices with each other.
This arrangement then allows the Sheboygan Neighborhood Pride (SNP) to continue their focus of encouraging residents of neighborhoods without associations to hold informal meetings and encourage them to form a neighborhood association that is recognized by the Common Council. SNP is a non-profit organization that gives groups the tools to become successful organizations, capable of achieving their goals. To learn more, visit SheboyganNeighborhoodPride.info.
In order to promote more communication between the residents in our city neighborhoods, Nextdoor, a private social network for the Sheboygan community, was launched in March of 2014. The Nextdoor network allows the City another option to get information out to residents. City Planning and Development, the Police Department, Mayor’s Office, Mead Public Library, and the Water Utility all currently post information to Nextdoor participants. The best feature about Nextdoor is that it allows residents in a neighborhood to connect with each other. People involved are using Nextdoor to track down a trustworthy babysitter, get recommendations on who does the best paint job in town, ask for help keeping an eye out for a lost dog, quickly get the word out about a break-in, organize a Neighborhood Watch Group, find a new home for an outgrown bike, let neighbors know about used furniture available for pickup, or to promote a garage sale or a community event.
As of January, over 1,792 Sheboygan residents have signed up to participate. The sign-up of new neighborhood members continues to grow at a rate of 64 members per month. To participate in your neighborhood visit the SNP website for the date of a meeting in your area or go to Nextdoor.com to join.