ACT

Achieving Community Together (ACT)

Texas State University-San Marcos and the City of San Marcos have developed a partnership to educate student and non-student residents about making this a great community in which to live.Together we can create an environment respectful of everyone.

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ACT Program Named Finalist for International Award

The San Marcos Police Department and Texas State University-San Marcos ACT Program has been named a finalist for this year’s Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing.

The prestigious international award recognizes innovative and effective problem-oriented policing (POP) projects that have achieved measurable success in resolving recurring specific crime, disorder or public safety problems faced by police and the community. SMPD and Texas State were nominated for the project, Noise in Neighborhoods: Achieving Community Together (ACT)

“Good police work is not always about increased enforcement,” said Police Chief Howard Williams. “Although enforcement is the solution to some problems, it is seldom effective on entrenched quality of life issues. In those cases, good policing is about solving problems, and problem solving requires a community effort. Achieving Community Together (ACT) is precisely that – a community uniting to resolve quality of life issues that concern all the citizens of San Marcos. International recognition as a finalist for the Herman Goldstein Award is high praise for everyone who has worked so hard to make ACT a success.”

In 2007, the San Marcos Police Department responded to 2,833 noise complaints, their most frequent call for service. The strain between student and non-student residents because of noisy parties affected the safety and quality of life in neighborhoods.

Traditional enforcement efforts to curb noisy gatherings netted no significant improvements. In June 2008, City, University, and community representatives came together to implement the SARA problem-solving model and address issues of neighborhood disorder.

From this meeting emerged the Achieving Community Together (ACT) campaign, which became the foundation to reduce noise by shifting emphasis from enforcement to education and community influence. From 2007 through 2010, total calls for service for loud noise and parties decreased 16.3 percent and between 9:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. decreased 20.4 percent.

Especially noteworthy was that arrests/citations for noise violations decreased 43.6 percent. These results were derived from the community becoming less dependent on the criminal justice system to handle neighborhood conflict. The focus moved to education and shared responsibility to effect long-term change.

Key project team members include retired Assistant Police Chief Lisa Dvorak, Dr. Joanne Smith, Vice President for Student Affairs, Assistant Chief Chase Stapp, Commander Penny Dunn, Commander (ret.) Terry Nichols, Sergeant Martin Manzi, Fire Marshal Ken Bell, Dr. J. Pete Blair, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, and Michelle Lopez, Associate Director of the LBJ Student Center.

"Working collaboratively with the City of San Marcos to create the ACT Program and educate both student and non student residents about positive neighborhood interaction is the right thing to do in a town that houses a major college,” said Dr. Smith. “Everyone is a ‘citizen’ of San Marcos in so many ways and it only makes sense to work together to retain student and non student residents in our vibrant, growing community.

“Our goal at Texas State is to help students be successful in all aspects of their lives and to graduate to hopefully become a contributing San Marcos community member,” she added. “Being recognized as a finalist for the Herman Goldstein Award affirms that our collaborative work is indeed the right thing to do for our community."

“Also noteworthy is the partnership between the Austin Apartment Association and the local properties who promote a healthy environment through the ACT Ally program,” said Michelle Lopez, Associate Director of the LBJ Student Center. “The ACT Allies are local apartment complexes who are collaborating with the City and Texas State to better educate residents about community expectations and to promote positive citizenship in San Marcos. The Austin Apartment Association has partnered with ACT to host quarterly manager meetings as a way of sharing information with owners and managers and to address/resolve mutual concerns. There are 25 properties who have signed up to be ACT Allies. The ACT Allies are a shining example of how effective improving quality of life can be when community stakeholders come together to affect long-term change. “

Dvorak, who retired last November, has been re-hired by the City as a Community Liaison working with city and university staff, neighborhood residents, and Texas State University students through the ACT program to promote positive relationships in San Marcos neighborhoods.

The winner of the Goldstein Award will be announced at the 22nd Problem-Oriented Policing annual conference in Miami, Florida on October 10th-12th.

ACT also received the Texas Municipal League Municipal Excellence Award in 2009.

What is the purpose of the Achieving Community Together (ACT) Program?

ACT Community Welcome

ACT is a collaborative effort of Texas State University-San Marcos and the San Marcos community to work together on common values, mission, and goals.

Regular communication, planning, and problem-solving will be the distinguishing features of the group efforts.

What is the focus of ACT?

ACT Community

--To promote positive relations between student and non-student residents through education, community connectedness, and resources.

--Education – provide students with tools to have a successful off-campus living experience.

--Community connectedness – provide students with opportunities to have positive interaction with non-student residents.

--Resources – refer students to necessary resources, i.e. Off-Campus Survival Guide, and to pool resources for educational and community connectedness activities.