House Bill 9229

    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HR 9229

        By Representative Ryan






  1                         House Resolution

  2         A resolution in recognition of Turn Around

  3         Florida.

  4

  5         WHEREAS, during the past four years, the State of Texas

  6  has encouraged its citizens to take responsibility for their

  7  neighborhoods and communities through programs such as Turn

  8  Around Texas, and

  9         WHEREAS, the initiative has its roots in the ideas and

10  work of Herman Wrice, a community activist in Philadelphia

11  who, in the late 1980's, showed the value of mobilizing

12  neighborhoods and encouraging them to participate in frequent

13  meetings, street marches, and vigils, and

14         WHEREAS, Wrice and his followers engaged in peaceful

15  confrontation of criminals and drug traffickers as part of

16  their effort, and worked with police to take back their

17  streets, and

18         WHEREAS, in 1993, Taylor became the first Texas city to

19  implement the process developed by Wrice, and, in less than

20  one year, crime in that city decreased by 32 percent and

21  violent crime decreased by 80 percent, and

22         WHEREAS, today, 17 cities in Texas are using the Wrice

23  process, now known as Turn Around Texas, with dramatic results

24  that include significant reductions in crime rate, improved

25  relations between the community and police, and a discovery of

26  common ground among residents of all ages, backgrounds, and

27  incomes, and

28         WHEREAS, this movement has now been utilized in a

29  number of Florida cities and counties; specifically,

30  Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Boynton

31  Beach, Deerfield Beach, Pompano, Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach,

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HR 9229

    711-109A-99






  1  Melbourne, Key West, Fort Myers, Lakeland, and Volusia County,

  2  and

  3         WHEREAS, the Turn Around Florida program was

  4  implemented first in Melbourne in 1992, and the program began

  5  in Boynton Beach in 1995, in Jacksonville, Tampa, St.

  6  Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale, and Volusia County in 1996, and

  7  in Dania Beach in 1998, and

  8         WHEREAS, the positive results of Turn Around Florida in

  9  these communities have included the opening of libraries,

10  shopping centers, new play facilities, and community centers

11  in crime-ravaged areas, and the emergence of new economic

12  opportunities following the reduction in crime rates, and

13         WHEREAS, noticeable reductions in crime rates

14  attributable to Turn Around Florida have occurred in

15  Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and

16  Key Largo, and

17         WHEREAS, Turn Around Florida advocates removal of

18  criminal elements and subsequent community beautification

19  through a joint effort of neighbors working together to

20  replace crime, drugs, and violence with community pride,

21  optimism, and a vastly improved quality of life, NOW,

22  THEREFORE,

23

24  Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of

25  Florida:

26

27         That the House of Representatives of the State of

28  Florida hereby recognizes Turn Around Florida for its

29  successful efforts in reducing drug trafficking and crime in

30  neighborhoods and in improving the quality of life in cities

31  and communities throughout Florida.

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