Operation Weed and Seed: A Vision for Safe and Thriving Communities

Hernandez N¹*

1. U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, Washington, DC, USA

Violent crime in many American communities remains unacceptably high despite the significant accomplishments in crime reduction during the past decade. The U.S. Department of Justice implemented Operation Weed and Seed to address violent crime, gang activity, drug use, and drug trafficking in neighbourhoods hardest hit by violence and eroding social and economic stability.

Weed and Seed is a comprehensive strategy—not simply a grant program. The four fundamental principles are collaboration, coordination, community participation and leveraging resources.

The Weed and Seed strategy involves a two-pronged approach.

1. Law enforcement agencies and crime justice officials cooperate to “weed out” violent criminals to prevent them from victimizing residents in the designation area.

2. Social services and economic revitalization are brought in to “seed” the area to ensure long-term change and a higher quality of life for residents.

The primary objectives at each of the 300+ Weed and Seed sites are to: 1) develop and implement comprehensive community based strategies to control and prevent violent crime, drug trafficking and drug related crime; 2) to coordinate existing and new public and private resources in designated neighborhoods to maximize their impact; 3) to mobilize community residents to assist law enforcement in identifying and removing criminal elements, assist social service providers in identifying and responding to community needs; and 4) to encourage full participation in neighborhood decision making processes.

Each Weed and Seed site is managed locally. At the national level, the Community Capacity Development Office is responsible for policy development and supervision.

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