NCJ Number
112254
Date Published
1987
Length
31 pages
Annotation
Four of seven pilot programs designed to reduce the fear of crime in Newark, N.J., and Houston were effective in improving attitudes and perceptions of citizens of these cities.
Abstract
The National Institute of Justice funded the planning for the experiments and the evaluative research. By April 1983, task forces in each city determined which programs would best address local needs. Both cities established a local police community newsletter, a police-community multiservice center, and contacts by police officers to determine and address what citizens viewed as local problems. Houston also provided telephone contacts with crime victims and an effort by police officers to create a neighborhood organization. Newark established a program to reduce social disorder and physical deterioration and a coordinated effort to provide information, increase the quantity and quality of police-citizen contact, and reduce the social and physical signs of crime. The evaluations used quasi-experimental designs to compare attitudes before and after the programs were introduced. The most successful programs were the neighborhood police centers, door-to-door contacts, community organizing by police, and the coordination of several approaches. The other strategies were unsuccessful because of lack of full implementation and their failure to establish a close working relationship between citizens and police. Findings indicated the desirability of increasing the quantity and improving the quality of contacts between police officers and citizens. Research recommendations, charts, notes, and 18 references.