NCJ Number
171209
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 66 Issue: 8 Dated: (August 1997) Pages: 8-12
Date Published
1997
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article highlights some of the creative crime prevention approaches currently being used in police agencies across the Nation.
Abstract
With its Fast Fax program, the Fairfax County Police Department (Virginia) can send important information to hundreds of local businesses in a matter of minutes. A fax might detail a recent robbery and describe the suspect or notify business owners of the next scheduled crime prevention meeting. In some Chicago neighborhoods, community policing officers carry beepers to help them respond to the concerns of local business owners. To divert nonemergency calls from an overburdened 911 system, shopkeepers report such incidents as loitering, shoplifting, panhandling, parking problems, and suspicious activity. Unlike pagers of the past that merely displayed phone numbers, these can deliver detailed messages. A solid relationship with local businesses also forms the foundation for a program in Prince William County, Virginia. Fleet Watch enlists the aid of business people who spend the majority of their workdays on the road. Equipped with nothing more technical than a mobile phone or access to a radio dispatcher, Fleet Watchers remain alert for suspicious or illegal activity while conducting their usual business as utility operators, taxi drivers, couriers, tow truck operators, etc. With 50 cellular phones and free airtime, residents in 11 Dade County (Florida) neighborhoods formed the basis for the Dade County Neighborhood Cellular Watch Project. Residents who observed crimes in progress or other suspicious activity used the phones to call police. With its telephone voice-mail system, the Berkeley Police Department exchanges crime and incident information with community residents. Programs such as these show that new technology can enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement in adopting creative approaches to traditional problems.