approach that has an extremely positive
impact on the community of Hayward.
The program not only benefits the community, but all those involved in the process
by allowing them to see the capabilities
of each department and become familiar
with what others do to assist the community.” Stacey further related SMASH is a
pioneering program that other cities are
beginning to emulate. Code Enforcement
Supervisor Eusebio Espitia, who joined
the City of Hayward after being employed
for ten years at a much larger California
municipality, echoes Stacey’s thoughts regarding the level of team work a SMASH
demonstrates amongst the various departments in addressing neighborhood issues.
Espitia adds that, “Other cities with similar community issues could greatly benefit
from employing a program like SMASH.”
In September of 2012, the Hayward
Police Department was approached by the
executive board of the California Crime
Prevention Officers’ Association to provide training at their 38th annual training
symposium. The board was specifically
interested in highlighting the success of
SMASH in the improvement to the quality
of life within the Hayward community.
The HPD developed a two-hour overview
of the program and provided the training
to over thirty law enforcement agencies
attending the annual symposium. The program received substantial interest and the
HPD has since worked with a number of
agencies interested in developing similar
programs in their own agencies.
The SMASH program has experienced
overwhelming success, gaining voluntary
cooperation from most property owners and participants through a civil and
criminal process. It serves as a platform
that allows other preventative measures to
thrive, such as: Crime Prevention through
Environmental Design, Neighborhood
Watch, and the Crime Free Multi Housing
programs. Lastly, it