NCJ Number
162906
Journal
Focus on Police Research and Development Issue: 7 Dated: (March 1996) Pages: 42-43
Date Published
1996
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Vehicle Watch (VW) programs similar to Neighborhood Watch programs have been established in England and Wales starting in 1990; evaluation studies suggest that these programs make people feel secure although no definitive statement can be made about whether they reduce vehicle theft.
Abstract
The common assumption in all VW programs is that vehicles carrying membership identification will be at less risk from thieves than other vehicles. The identification assumes that those who steal cars know of the program's existence, recognize the identifying sticker, believe the sticker to represent a credible risk of detection, and will not remove or conceal the sticker. However, a variety of data sources provide little data to suggest that publicity campaigns do much to influence young criminals. In addition, where a campaign is not reinforced by operational police activity in the form of routine checks and prosecutions arising from the operation of the program, it has little chance of being perceived as any threat at all. Like Neighborhood Watch, VW makes people feel more secure, as if they have purchased a premium on the services of the police. Publicity may encourage better security habits. However, police resources used to promote and manage these programs might be more appropriately used elsewhere, and the ethics of marketing such programs as crime prevention are an issue.