(pictured above left to right) Des Plaines Fire Chief Dave Clark and Fire Prevention Bureau Captain George Lechner show their support of community arson awareness. Posters, brochures, and other written information aid in promoting campaigns such as the Arson Alert Program recently conducted in the northwest suburb. (photo by Karen Henrikson)

Community awareness programs, while requiring a great deal of time and effort coordinating, serve a variety of valuable purposes in the local government setting.

Those campaigns concerned with improving the safety and well-being of residents will, hopefully, result in upgrading the overall environment by saving dollars and, possibly, lives. Politically, campaigns can be extremely important to the official who wishes to appear as a caring, conscientious public servant. They also condone positive internal public relations by bringing together municipal employees serving a common cause.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of a community campaign is the increased communication and interaction between municipal employees and the public. Besides allowing tor an exchange of commentary and ideas, the campaign aids in ridding the negative public servant image. The City of Des Plaines experienced this first hand when they launched an Arson Awareness Campaign Program in 1983.

Responsible for protecting the lives and property of approximately 55,374 Des Plaines residents, the Fire Department is a vital part of the northwest suburban municipality. While department operations include efficient and effective work and equipment on the emergency scene, it also includes fire and safety prevention. This type of prevention means planning ahead and this is exactly what Des Plaines Firefighters were confronted with when they viewed reports on suspicious fires within the City in 1983.

Reports indicated that there were certain similarities in what was being burned, when it was being burned, how it was done and where. It appeared that the problem area was in the City's sixth ward, a southeast portion of the municipality. About one third of the total set tires were occurring in approximately one-tenth of the City's total area.

Being a Board Member of the Illinois Advisory Committee on Arson Prevention (IACAP), a Des Plaines Fire Prevention Bureau Captain recognized the arson problem and developed the campaign idea.

The first initial administrative meeting to discuss the Arson Awareness Campaign involved the Mayor, the Administrative Assistant to the Mayor, the Fire Chief, the Fire Prevention Bureau Captain, a Police Department Lieutenant and the Public Relations Coordinator. The Program idea was supported by all those attending and it was decided that the culmination of the campaign would be a community meeting in the area where the arson problem was prevalent.

Insurance companies, contacted by the Fire Prevention Bureau, gladly donated a supply of pamphlets on the arson problem on a national level and the resulting costs. The City's Public Relations Coordinator developed a brochure announcing the Community Meeting on Arson, scheduled for a weekday evening at a local junior high. Posters promoting arson awareness were also distributed in public places throughout the City.

September 1985 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 19

The next step was to hold a news conference, called by the Mayor at the main Fire Station, to acquaint the local media with the arson problem and the upcoming Community Meeting on Arson. The media agreed to promote the campaign and put emphasis on the Police Department's Crime Stoppers Program which enables individuals to collect a cash reward for providing information anonymously regarding local crimes such as arson.

As part of the campaign firefighters visited three local grade schools and one junior high holding assemblies and passing out the Community Meeting notice. In the meantime, letters went out from the Administrative Assistant to the Mayor to various scout organizations soliciting their help distributing information, regarding arson, door-to-door on the Saturday prior to the Community Meeting. Several groups responded positively and, along with members of the Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, information was circulated primarily in the problem 6th ward area.

The Park District cooperated by allowing scouts to use their recreational facility following the distribution of materials. Fire Prevention Bureau Personnel and scout leaders supervised the group and provided refreshments.

News releases were run announcing the meeting and, during this same period, the City's PR Coordinator released an extensive article on cooperative Fire/Police Department arson fire investigation. A cable TV community access program, "Arson Investigation in Des Plaines," was broadcast locally. The program format was an interview with representatives of the Fire and Police Departments who were directly involved with arson investigation.

The majority of residents attending the Community Meeting on Arson were from the sixth ward area. City Officials attended and, following the Mayor's introduction, informed the residents of the community arson problem. A spokesman from the Police Department explained how the Crimestoppers Program operates. Maps indicating exactly where fires frequently occurred served as visual aids. Arson as a local and national problem was addressed prior to turning the meeting over to residents for questions.

The actual success of the campaign was not to be known for another year, but it was worth the wait. Fire Department statistics compiled the following year indicated that 25% of the City's arson calls were made in the problem sixth ward. 38% of the arson calls were made in this vicinity in 1983. While the overall number of malicious type fires went up from 97 to 128 from 1983 to 1984, the records indicate that the fires in this problem area decreased 13%. Also of interest is the time of year the fires took place: January-April, 6 fires; May-September, 16 fires; and October-December, 11 fires.

The Arson Community Awareness Program is just one example of how Citywide campaigns can benefit a community. Not only were residents educated on arson, but the Program was successful in increasing people interaction and creating positive public relations. There's a need to cultivate these kind of situations. Strength can be found in numbers and people united for a common cause, or working towards a common goal, are capable of accomplishing great milestones.

Page 20 / Illinois Municipal Review / September 1985