MINNEAPOLIS—A program that aims to make communities safer and increase partnerships between law enforcement and the corporate world has morphed into one of the most successful public-private partnerships in the country and the discount retailer that started it is looking for other businesses to participate.

Safe City is a community-based initiative that leverages partnerships and technology to reduce crime and increase safety through site audits, security system design, discounts on technology and training, and funding. It was created by The Target Corp. after a group of Target executives traveled to Europe following 9/11 to better understand how law enforcement there was able to work in conjunction with private business to increase security. Since launching the Safe City program in its home base of Minneapolis in 2004, 19 cities across the country have followed suit.

But do not look for Target's logo to be printed on every Safe City material or any news story regarding the success of the program. Target's leadership role in the project has not been heavily promoted, on purpose.

"One of the most important thing we let people know is that although Target created this program, we are so interested in its success that you will not find out name on it," said Tony Heredia, director of assets protection for Target Corp. "That is because we never want our involvement to hinder other retailers' involvement."

In fact, one of Target's current initiatives is to develop interest from other large corporate entities that may be interested in sponsoring or starting a similar program in its area. But today, the company continues to bring communities together nationwide — six municipalities are scheduled to join in 2008.

"What our role is today is we are the national program sponsor of Safe City and we, in essence, identify new places to implement similar projects and work directly with the police and business members to fully develop this," Heredia said.

The results of the program speak volumes: After its 2006 implementation of Safe City, Flint Township, Mich., experienced a 40 percent reduction in auto thefts; in Boston, which launched its initiative in 2005, a 73 percent reduction in drug complaints occurred as well as a 63 percent decrease in burglary and a 17 percent reduction in auto thefts; Minneapolis, where Safe City started, recorded a 44 percent decrease in robberies in one year and 800 arrests have been made to date.

A well-known group of security technology providers are Safe City corporate partners including Lensec, Axis Communications, Firetide, CitizenObserver and T3 Motion. Heredia said it is vital that companies that are partners are "approaching the concept of Safe City the same way we are."

"We ensure that it is their primary motivation first and then we will work on developing the technologies that those contributors can provide," he said. "It is up to them to determine how they contribute."

Talia Beck, manager of outreach programs for Target, said ultimately, a city and its leadership team determines the solutions that are used. But the most important part of the Safe City program is the people, not the technology, Heredia said.

"The heart of the partnership is how we can come together and create safer communities," Beck said. "That is the heart of Safe City."

Any corporation interested in contributing to the program can send an e-mail to safecity@target.com.

For more on this story, look for the February edition of Security Director News.