Fighting back in bright leaf: Community policing and drug trafficking in public housing

Drug trafficking and related disorders are common in public housing properties. This research draws from a sitespecific, multidimensional study of an urban public housing authority plagued with drug distribution and related crime. Focus group interviews and face-to-face surveys yield a vivid description of the residents’ perceptions of crime, disorder, and the impact on their lives. An analysis of the community-policing response reveals implementation problems which call into question some of the underlying assumptions community-policing advocates often take for granted.