CRJ 305 Neighborhood Watch As A Crime Prevention Strategy

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Neighborhood Watch1Neighborhood WatchAsACrime PreventionStrategySandy Diaz (Echon)CRJ 305 Crime PreventionProfessor Blake ChearyFebruary 4, 2012Discuss the effectiveness of Neighborhood Watch programs as a crime preventionstrategy. In your answer, explore the key principles and goals of these programs, thechallenges they face, and the role of community involvement in reducing crime. How doNeighborhood Watch initiatives contribute to enhancing public safety and communitycohesion? Additionally, analyze the findings of research studies on the impact ofNeighborhood Watch programs on crime rates, including the statistical meta-analysisconducted by Bennett et al. (2008). What are the potential long-term benefits andlimitations of these programs in promoting safer neighborhoods?Word Count Requirement: 1000-1200 words

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Neighborhood Watch2For centuries, crime which is a universal occurrence, has troubled and face up to societiesof the world. Crime, in one form or another, touches each of our lives on a daily basis. Ifyou are lucky enough not to have been a direct victim, you are still altered by the threatand cost of crime, as well as by the emotional consequences of realizing that crime is allaround you.As the United States becomes morediverse, the responsibilities expected ofpolice in the fight against crime are becoming progressively more difficult to accomplish.The most effective approaches to crime prevention are community policing and reducingopportunities for crime through strategies like block watch, target hardening or promotinga more careful behavior. These could result to decreased crime rates, the level and thefear of crime neighborhood risks, and higher quality of life.Robinson states (2002) before we can create an effective plan to prevent crime,“it ishelpful to first understand why a particular act is identified as a crime and prohibited bysociety” (pg. 1).According to our book Policing and Crime Prevention, Identifyingunacceptable behavior and defining criminal prohibitions are only parts of the process ofcrime prevention. The current and most basic beliefs about crime prevention are to placethe citizen at the center of theendeavor.As we know crime prevention is amagnitudeof many perceptions and we mustrecognize the fact that different agencies and organizations have established or areestablishing policies and programs to prevent and control crime in their own ways.Thesecurity of the neighborhood is the key indicator for economic and social health stability.This makes neighborhood crime prevention efforts important. Safe neighborhoods areparamount to enhance common values and general community health where there isneighborhood crime fear and distrust among the residents prevail. As it has beenobservedusuallycrimeiscommoninpoorerneighborhoodswhichhavehigh

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Neighborhood Watch3populations. If this is not addressed it may contributes to community neglectandbreakdown.This is because there are few incentives to invest both economically orsocially in such environment. People from neighborhood become suspicious to each otherandthis affects their cooperation.Crime also flourishes in neighborhoods where there aremore opportunities for violence, such as illegal drug and gun markets (Reiss and Roth,1993, Method section para 1).Community networks formed by youth emulating positiveadult behavior suffer when people are fearful and distrustful (Moore, 1999, Methodsection para 2).Creating safer through communities through neighborhood crime prevention programsis one way to disturb this negative feedback circle that weakens communities.One thinglawofficialslearnisthatproactivecrimepreventionstrategiesinvolvenotonlythemselves but also the community in programs and initiatives that enable citizens toprotect their property more effectively.Every citizen mustcontribute to the prevention of crime, or the effort is destinedtofail. In the earliest days, under the Anglo-Saxon system of Alfred the Great, the citizenwas expected to participate in both crimepreventionand crime control.Underthe“Frankpledge” system, each man was required to be responsible for, and to, his neighbors(Robinson 2002, pg. 4).Today this still continues but it is known as NeighborhoodCrime Watch.Inprinciple,NeighborhoodWatchisacrimepreventionprogramthatstresseseducation and common sense. It teaches citizens how to help themselves by identifyingand reporting suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. In addition, it provides citizenswith the opportunity to make their neighborhoods safer and improve the quality of life.

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