CURRENT PROGRAMS.....

 

John Jay College of Criminal Justice> John A. Reisenbach Master’s Scholarship

Graduate students in the Master’s Degree Programs in Criminal Justice, Forensic Science or Forensic Psychology with a minimum GPA
of 3.5, may be eligible for the John A Reisenbach Master’s Scholarship. After graduation, the winning candidate will have to work
in the New York City area to make the City safer and more secure.

Recipients to date include:  Det. Cathy Babilonia  -- Christopher J. Biddle -- Teresa Cohen -- Mirna Colon -- Barbara Daly -- Rebecca DeBeer -- Brandon Del Pozo -- Robert Drew -- David R. Fisher -- Jennifer Flaherty -- Jennifer Elizabeth Goodloe -- Susan Greeley -- Andrew Karmen -- Charles Jason Lore -- Kenneth Lowy -- John B. McAndrew -- Barbara OHanlon -- Cpt. Thomas Palazzo -- Kelly Poggio -- Sandra Radice -- Marlyn Rivera-Kopp -- Donna M. Squilla -- Lt. Robert Utsey –Sabrina Milo-David Speal

Dissertation Fellowships

Doctoral dissertation prizes for excellence are given to candidates who further the understanding of root causes of violent crimes, or effective strategies for dealing with it.  To date, our doctoral students are: Dr. Susan Crimmins - Vincent Henry - Candice Skrapec

 

Citizens for NYC

Safe on Staten Island Anti-Crime Program

Park Hill, Staten Island, is a neighborhood plagued by crime and drug activity. With its collaborative approach to problem solving, Citizens Committee for New York City acts as a mediator between the community and police establishing consensus on tactics for fighting crime and supporting positive community and youth development.

The New Yorkers for Better Neighborhoods Reisenbach Safety Awards

Grants range from $500 to $3,000 and are given to volunteer-led community groups in economically under-resourced neighborhoods across the city to work on community projects that bring neighbors together to improve their neighborhoods. Citizens Committee complements these grants with other support services: one-on-one project implementation assistance, and skills-building workshops. Recipients to date include: New Lane Shore Resident Association, Staten Island; Citizens Against Graffiti Everywhere (CAGE), Queens; Westchester Square Resident Association, the Bronx; When It’s Real It’s Forever. Brooklyn

 

Urban Assembly> Mentoring Program 

In 2005 our grant helped to establish a pilot mentoring program in Urban Assembly Schools for the 2005-2006 school year.  The 2005 pilot program served 158 students in 11 schools.  For the 2007-2008 school year the Urban Assembly will be adding an iMentor
program which will provide a new tool to match mentors with mentees.  The plan is to serve 560 students (200 are planned as iMentor matches).   The goal has been raised to 950 students for the upcoming year.

 

Safe Horizon> Safe Harbor Program - Gang Violence Initiative

Safe Horizon’s Safe Harbor has been helping middle and high school students cope with the violence, victimization and trauma that occur in their homes and communities since 1991. With a focus on leadership, empowerment and the development of social, emotional and interpersonal skills, the program offers students the opportunity to address and explore issues of violence in a stable, nondiscriminatory setting.

The Gang Violence Prevention Initiative raises awareness of gang activity, discourages student participation and promotes safety at school and in the neighborhood. The Gang Violence Prevention Initiative is being rolled-out at the BASE and Hostos-Lincoln schools and will be introduced at other Safe Harbor schools.

 

NYC Police Foundation > GUN STOP

The GUN STOP program is part of a comprehensive strategy to remove guns from our streets. The program offers $1,000 rewards for anonymous information through a toll free number leading to the arrest of individuals in possession of illegal handguns. Nearly 3,000 arrests have been made and over 1,600 guns have been confiscated.

 

New York Cares> Youth Services Club Program - Anti-Crime Initiative

New York Cares’ Youth Service Club (YSC) program is the only one of its kind in New York City that brings a structured, award-winning community service and leadership building initiative to some of New York City’s most under-resourced public schools. Beginning in 2007, The John A. Reisenbach Foundation implemented a crime prevention curriculum into the program. This is a particularly important program enhancement since the majority of participating YSC schools are located in high-crime areas and students have expressed an interest in learning more about crime prevention. This year YSC’s Anti-Crime Initiative will involve 30 schools with over 300 youth volunteers participating.

 

CAPP> Child Abuse Prevention Program

During the past twenty-one years, CAPP has reached over 300,000 New York City school children and made them aware of their right to be safe. More than 24,000 school children attended the CAPP’s one-of-a-kind Child Safety Workshop.

Child Safety Workshops

One of the most tragic aspects of child abuse is that its victims are not able to help themselves because they are often manipulated to believe that they are somehow responsible for the abuse and remain silent allowing their victimization to escalate. The Workshop uses life-sized puppets to teach school children to recognize, resist and report instances of abuse and neglect. CAPP actively combats the misconception that abuse will go away if we pretend it does not exist. Veiling the problem in secrecy only permits the abusive behavior to fester.

Children’s Clothes Closets

The Clothes Closets stock clothing, pajamas, toiletries, toys and books. These items are placed in overnight bags that are given to children who need to be moved to a safer environment because of abuse in their homes. Children come into the center on the way to foster care with nothing but the clothing they are wearing. The children pick the items for the bag themselves; in this way they feel they have something of their own to take with them when they are moved.

 

PAST PROGRAMS.....

 

Neighborhood Safety Awards

In a model partnership between the Reisenbach Foundation, the New York City Police Department and the Citizens Committee for
New York City, Neighborhood Safety Awards were established to mobilize residents of targeted blocks and buildings into community improvement programs.  Residents are recruited and trained in collaborative problem-solving efforts, given workbooks, tip sheets, resource guides and other forums to contribute to a reduction of crime in the area.

Graduates of the program were eligible for JAR Neighborhood Safety Award grants of up to $1,000.  More than 35 grants were given
out to help residents analyze and respond to a specific drug, crime or quality of life condition on their block

 

Awards to Outstanding New York City Police Officers

In 1998, the first John A. Reisenbach Awards were given to 16 members of the New York City Police Department who demonstrated exemplary conduct in dealing with both the public and other members of the service.  In cooperation with the Department's own Courtesy Professionalism and Respect programs, candidates were chosen by their commanding officers from police units citywide. 
Each officer receives a certificate and a $500 cash award.

While awards to police officers are typically given for crime-fighting acts above and beyond the call of duty, the NYC Police
Foundation believes that cops who have a consistent regard for CPR can often help prevent community encounters from escalating to more severe violence.  These awards were developed in conjunction with the NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Community Affairs
Yolanda Jimenez and then-Police Commissioner Howard Safir.

 

CABWATCH

JAR funding helped seed the development of CABWATCH, a program which provides cell phones and training to over 9500 cab drivers, creating additional "eyes and ears" for the NYPD in fighting crime.  These cell phone are designed to dial 911 automatically, the only outgoing number.

Each year, the Reisenbach CabWatch Award is given to recognize a particular driver for outstanding service to the organization and community.  The Foundation is continuing its support by providing funding for the special training of livery drivers, extending "Livery Watch" into neighborhoods where yellow taxis seldom go.

 

COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS > CITIZENS FOR NYC

A pilot program to teach individual CERT teams to coordinate and integrate as first responders at the community level.  This program will focus on lower Manhattan and will involve 3 CERT teams in a series of workshops and exercises.   The program will finish with
a half-day conference and round table and will involve the NYC Office of Emergency Management; Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Mayors Office of Immigrant Affairs and other groups.  A best practices booklet will be created with tip sheets and resources.  This program will serve as model for citywide training.  The Foundation grants will encourage matching grant and will
serve to fully fund the program.

 

Justice Offender Profiling Conference

John Jay College plans to mount a conference in spring 2007 and make available the knowledge about the most up to date research
on offender profiling to inform criminal justice and media professionals.  Profiling is a set of techniques and tools that utilizes psychological theory and methodology to improve criminal investigations.  It is an especially useful means of investigating violent
crime such as homicide and rape.  John Jay College of Criminal Justice currently houses two of the most prominent leaders in the
field, Professor Louis Schlesinger and Dr. C. Gabrielle Salfati.  Both are highly respected in their field, and have long and solid publication records.  They also between them represent the two different sides of the work in the field, one which is clinically based and the other which is empirically based.  Both of them are currently working with the FBI in a first-ever initiative to use closed case files to further our understanding of serious violent crime. Participants will come from a range of interested criminal justice agencies, including particular high ranking police officials, crime investigators, crime analysts, police training professionals, forensic scientists, public prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, clinicians, media professionals, and other interested professionals in the field.

 

 "Criminal Justice Close-Up" on CUNY-TV

Hosted by Patrick Collins, Ph.D., Professor and Chair,
Department of Art, Music & Philosophy, John Jay College

· 24 30-minute discussions with leading criminal justice practitioners and opinion makers

Topics:  Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Organized Crime, Safety in the Transit System, DNA Testing, The Trial Process, Drug Enforcement, Emerging Trends in Terrorism, Police Corruption and Integrity, Youth Violence, School Safety, Gun Control, Privatization
of Prisons, Workplace Violence, Sex Crimes, the Drug Epidemic, Protecting Our Children, Decline in Crime, Cyber Crime, the Secret Service, Gang Violence

Guests:  Past President of Center for Prevention of Handgun Violence Richard Aborn, Chief Counsel Joseph Armao/Mollen Commission, NYC Police Commissioner William Bratton, Congress of Racial Equality Chairman Roy Innis, John Jay College President Gerald W. Lynch.

 

THE LEARNING PROJECT [TLP]

 The design, launch and managing of exceptionally high quality public schools is one step toward the goal of dramatically improving
both the country's and the city's education systems.  TLP One was opened on the Lower East Side for 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grade students from around the five boroughs.  Although economically disadvantaged, these students range in ability from "gifted and
talented" to "special needs."  In addition to a strong academic program, TLP's curriculum promotes and emphasizes public safety and community service.  Students developed a garden in an area that had been a drug dealers haven, formed the Peace Squad to help solve conflicts peacefully, launched a recycling program, created a relationship with residents of a nearby nursing home, met with local
police officers and created a video about non-violent resolution to conflict.

Created by Daniel Oscar, The Learning Project also designed summer and after-school programs on both the Lower East Side and in Washington Heights.  TLP students increased their scores in both math and reading far more significantly than other students city-wide.  They maintained an attendance rate of 93% and an on-time rate of 94%.  Over 40 students participated in the National Junior High
School Chess Championship, traveling to Phoenix to become division champions.  In 1995, the Reisenbach Foundation funded The Learning project's summer school program in Washington Heights, known as Project Chill.  Kids were given a chance to learn conflict resolution options other than violence, and produced a film about life in the ghetto called "The Heights."

 

WASH AND LEARN LITERACY PROGRAM

Wash and Learn is a start-up literacy program designed to reach students of low socio economic populations and diverse cultures in Laundromats in NYC.  Clean Rite, an operator of Laundromats is providing space and resources.  SUNY provides student teachers for participation and The Wash and Learn format is an easy adjunct to established learning and reading programs.  Wash and Learn was founded in 2002 by Georgina Smith, a science teacher at Brooklyn's PS 159 and a graduate of the NYC Teaching Fellows program. 
She was nominated for the Kinder Award which honors outstanding teachers nationwide and received a Community Service Award
from Crown Heights in 2004.  Our matching grant will fully fund one location for one year plus contingencies.

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