NCJ Number
83596
Date Published
1981
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The evolution of the community crime prevention movement in America is outlined, and specific efforts at crime prevention planning for the elderly are described, followed by a discussion of the importance of evaluating crime prevention programs.
Abstract
Crime prevention programs for the elderly in American have evolved from a combination of increased technological hardware, citizens' demands for crime reduction, and the commitment of various agencies to research and development in crime prevention programs. Crime prevention programs for the elderly have tended to take three approaches; (1) crime prevention training, (2) the solicitation of the elderly's involvement in community crime prevention programs, and (3) assistance in target hardening. Examples of each of these three approaches are (1) the Senior Safety and Security Program in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, which consists of educational seminars primarily for elderly women to instruct them on how to be less vulnerable to victimization and help the police apprehend offenders; (2) the Senior Power Neighborhood Watch Program in Mansfield, Ohio, which recruits senior citizens for a program of observing crime and suspicious activity in their neighborhoods and reporting it to the police; and (3) the Senior Home Security Program in St. Louis, Mo., which hires low-income elderly citizens to install burglar-proofing devices in the homes of the elderly in their neighborhoods. It is important that crime prevention programs be evaluated not only in terms of victimization reduction but also in the reduction of fear of crime.