Efforts of the U.S. Justice Department to reduce crime and stabilize troubled neighborhoods in Southeast Missouri took a step forward Thursday with the announcement that four more cities have been officially designated Weed and Seed communities.

Edward L. Dowd Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, announced at the Federal Building here that Cape Girardeau, Caruthersville, Charleston and Poplar Bluff have earned official Justice Department designation as Weed and Seed sites.

Operation Weed and Seed is a Justice Department initiative designed to weed out violent crime, drug use and gang activity in targeted neighborhoods of a community. The program is also aimed at seeding communities with a variety of resources to revitalize the targeted neighborhoods.

Sikeston was the first community in Southeast Missouri to receive Weed and Seed designation. The program has been active in the Sikeston's Sunset neighborhood since 1995.

The five Southeast Missouri communities join more than 160 sites across the country that have implemented the Weed and Seed strategy. But the regional approach taken by Southeast Missouri is the only regional Weed and Seed initiative in the country.

To become a Weed and Seed site, a steering committee must be established in the community. The purpose of the committee is to offer direction and support to the Weed and Seed program.

In addition, communities must have established safe havens for children and police substations within the targeted neighborhoods. They also are required to have special programming geared toward community policing and youth activities.

With the designation, the cities join Sikeston in eligibility for a portion of the $750,000 Weed and Seed grant approved earlier this year for Southeast Missouri.

Dowd said the Justice Department does not dictate to the communities how to use their share of the funds. A steering committee within the community will determine how the funds are to be used according to the needs of the community itself.

"The beauty of Weed and Seed is that it is neighborhood driven," Dowd said.

The aim of the program is to establish a partnership between members of the neighborhood, local law enforcement and the Justice Department, he said.

Dowd pointed to Sikeston as an example of the success of the Weed and Seed initiative. Over 35 people from the Sunset area have been prosecuted and convicted in federal court as a direct result of the weeding out efforts of the Weed and Seed program. The 35 received an average sentence in federal prison of 10 years, Dowd said.

But he said equally important has been the seeding efforts in the Sunset region. An alternative school has been established for students who were expelled from school, a police substation was built in the neighborhood and a citizens police academy was formed.

In addition, the Sikeston Department of Public Safety has established training efforts to increase police officers' sensitivity to the particular needs of the Sunset residents, Dowd said.

The end result, he said, is that people in the Sunset neighborhood no longer look at police as an invading force trying to oppress the residents.

He anticipates that the success experienced in Sikeston should continue in the four other Southeast Missouri communities designated Weed and Seed sites.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Albert M. Spradling III said he welcomes the designation. "It gives us more of an opportunity in the city to attack the drug problem and to put financial resources into educational programs that we hope will pay dividends," he said.