NCJ Number
96566
Date Published
1985
Length
33 pages
Annotation
The Baltimore Neighborhood Watch Program, a community-based program involving community volunteers in the maintenance of peace and public safety within their immediate neighborhoods, is discussed.
Abstract
The primary objectives of the program's participants are to maintain a cooperative system of visible surveillance over one another's property, to report suspicious activity or persons to the police, and to decrease attempts to commit crimes through high visibility neighborhood patrols. The program consists of a coordinator, who schedules and directs the activities of the selected block watchers and block captains and acts as a liaison with the police department; the block captains, who encourage neighbors to participate in the program and assist the coordinator; and block watchers, who report suspicious activity, study crime resistance materials, and conduct home security surveys. Methods for recruiting block watchers include area canvassing and media promotion. Program statistics for 1982, 1983, and 1984 are supplied: since the program's inception in 1982, block watcher enrollment has risen from 22,000 to 53,478. Calls for service have also increased, from an average of 25 per day in 1982 to 29 per day in 1984. Further, in 1982, 263 arrests were credited to the program; in 1984, the number declined to 230. Police department amendments concerning the program are included, as are applications for neighborhood block watch signs and articles on the program.