U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

HELPING COMMUNITIES MOBILIZE AGAINST CRIME, DRUGS, AND OTHER PROBLEMS

NCJ Number
142041
Date Published
1992
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Intended for agency and community leaders and citizen activists, this manual uses the successful experiences of dozens of communities across the country to explain the basic principles and steps involved in community mobilization to address problems such as drug abuse and crime.
Abstract
The discussion notes that natural communities are often lacking in our mobile, dispersed country and that the first step often must be to create a community by giving people the sense that they have a real stake in creating and maintaining a positive environment and eliminating or preventing crime. It also emphasizes that community mobilization efforts require a combination of partnerships, commitment to action, a neighborhood base, a future-focused perspective, a determination to solve problems, and a vision of the potential results. Twenty-one lessons learned by communities that have established effective programs are presented. The text also explains the four elements required for effective prevention: (1) a participatory, inclusive, and instructive style; (2) the community's sense of ownership of the program; (3) an attitude of problemsolving and focusing on the future rather than on past problems; (4) and a logic that recognizes that local problems require local solutions tailored to the needs of the specific community. Illustrations