Crime Prevention

• NCJ Number: 88174
• Journal: Australian Police Journal Volume: 36 Issue: 4 Dated: (October 1982) Pages: 257-277
• Author(s): C R Watkins
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 21 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

Police in Australia should initiate programs that increase citizen involvement in crime prevention, generate information leading to the arrest and conviction of offenders, facilitate the identification and recovery of stolen property, and increase liaison with private industry in security efforts.

Abstract

Citizen involvement in crime prevention could be enhanced by increasing the strength of the Police Crime Prevention Section and decentralizing this section by attaching at least two officers trained in crime prevention and public relations to district headquarters in city and country jurisdictions. The mass media should be solicited to inform the public on crime prevention procedures, and attention should be given to cultivating children as reporters of crime and teaching them crime prevention behaviors. Neighborhood Watch programs similar to those practiced in the United States also promise to reduce burglaries and street crimes. Community service officers similar to those operating in Toronto, Canada should be appointed to serve in densely populated inner city and troublesome suburban areas. Improved reporting of crime to the police can occur by (1) increasing the rewards paid by the police for information leading to an arrest and conviction, (2) gaining greater support from the judiciary in protecting the identity of police informants at court hearings, and (3) gaining public support for the investigative hypnosis process and the cooperation of victims and witnesses in violent crimes. The identification and recovery of stolen property can be facilitated by programs that encourage citizens to mark and keep a record of all of their valuable property. If police are to increase liaison with private industry in security efforts, cooperation must be established at the divisional level, and lectures and training programs should be conducted by police for security personnel. Nine references are listed.