by Sean Critchfield

Created on: December 12, 2006

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

The Neighborhood Watch program is one of the earliest forms of organized community crime prevention in America. It has a unique history dating back to the late 1960s. This paper will cover the conception and growth of the Neighborhood Watch program to date.
As a tool to fight and prevent crime in residential communities, the program has proven to be quite effective. This text will cover examples of this by examining specific cities that have the Neighborhood Watch program in place.

Most importantly, this paper will arm the reader with the knowledge of how to begin a Neighborhood Watch program in their community. This program does more than just prevent crime. It has a remarkable effect on the relationships in a community, as well as affecting the communities awareness and involvement in the neighborhood.

CHAPTER TWO

The Neighborhood Watch Program

Most Neighborhood Watch programs are centralized around a neighborhood or block. They are typically staffed by local law enforcement officers and neighborhood volunteers who donate their time and sometimes resources for the good of the community. Most Neighborhood Watch programs are found in areas with single-family homes, with little or no commercial companies and buildings, and typically the residents have been in the neighborhood for five years or more. These programs typically use street signs to announce the presence of the program in an attempt to deter a criminal element.
The main reason for the establishment of a Neighborhood Watch is to enable a community to come together and take control of their neighborhood in an attempt to increase the safety and well-being of the community while decreasing the neighborhoods crime rate.
Neighborhood Watch Programs are based on the goal of reducing or eliminating opportunities for people to commit crimes rather than trying to change a criminals mentality or motivation. Earlier programs involved an attempt at reducing crime by direct community and social interaction. This was found to be less and sometimes ineffective and new methods were considered. Neighborhood Watch is the fruit of those methods.
Today these programs have evolved and grown into very effective counter-crime measures in residential communities. Early studies showed that there is a link between areas with high crime rates and neighborhoods characterized by a wide variety of economics and ethnicity, high levels of transience, and varying physical and economic conditions. In short, crime

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>