Informal Citizen Action and Crime Prevention at the Neighborhood Level - Executive Summary

• NCJ Number: 97977
• Author(s): S W Greenberg; W M Rohe; J R Williams
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 55 pages
• Grant Number(s): 81-IJ-CX-0080
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: RTI International
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO; National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: National Institute of Justice Executive Summary.

Annotation

To examine the full range of informal crime control mechanisms and their effect on crime and the fear of crime, the literature on the relationship between informal social control and neighborhood crime was reviewed, three existing neighborhood crime data sets were analyzed, and a workshop of practitioners and policymakers involved in neighborhood crime prevention was convened.

Abstract

The three data sets analyzed were 'Crime, Fear of Crime, and the Deterioration of Urban Neighborhoods' (Taub, Taylor, and Dunham, 1981), the 'Reactions to Crime' household survey data (Maxfield and Hunter, 1980; Skogan and Maxfield, 1980), and the surveys of households and community organizations in the 'Police Services Study' (Ostrum Parks, and Whitaker, 1982). The findings indicate that the degree of informal social control in a community affects the fear of crime in that community, and there is evidence, although not conclusive, that informal social control reduces the rate of serious crime in a neighborhood. The strength of informal social control was found to vary among neighborhoods differing in socioeconomic characteristics and ethnic homogeneity. Incivilities or nuisance crimes also apparently were significant in establishing an area image that attracted crime. The report recommends that the strengthening of informal social control be a major goal of crime prevention programs. Activities designed to create or maintain formal and informal social groups are suggested. Specific recommendations are offered for improving community crime prevention programs. Suggestions are offered for future research; 49 reference notes and approximately 50 bibliographic listings are provided.