Promoting Citizen Involvement in Crime Prevention and Control (From Taking Care: Understanding and Encouraging Self-Protective Behavior, P 254-279, 1987, Neil D Weinstein, ed.)

• NCJ Number: 107322
• Author(s): F Heinzelmann
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 26 pages
• Sale Source: Cambridge University Press
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper reviews the characteristics of community crime prevention programs, including key elements of model programs, and suggests strategies for promoting citizen involvement in crime prevention.

Abstract

Community crime prevention programs aim at reducing both the incidence and fear of crime and involve a variety of personal, household, and neighborhood anticrime activities. Program activities include property marking, security surveys, citizen surveillance and reporting, and citizen patrol. The key elements of effective programs are cooperation between police and interested citizens; strong neighborhood support, usually beginning with existing community organizations; the use of available community resources to build an organizational structure; and the use of a variety of methods to maintain citizen interest and commitment to crime prevention. Strategies to promote citizen involvement should focus on both individual and collective citizen actions and include communication and persuasion, incentives to encourage citizen involvement, and measures to reduce constraints on citizen involvement in crime prevention. 72 references.