A Resident-Focused Initiative for Community Crime Reduction

Crime prevention within residential neighborhoods involves developing a thorough, efficient, and adaptable approach that relies more on community involvement than the traditional implementation of local law enforcement programs or third party crime monitoring systems. In an area that is residentially dense, lacking commercial land that might deter theft and provide an implicit level of security monitoring and crime prevention due to alarm and video systems, it is key to: create awareness of the problem and instill resident cooperation; to ensure continued involvement and dynamic participation; and to provide feedback to the residents. The following crime reduction program thus consists of three major steps - the three A's; awareness, acknowledgment, adaptation.

Awareness

The first step toward installation of a crime reduction program is awareness - drawing attention to the problem in unique, diverse, and captivating ways on both the individual and community level. Utilizing popular forms of mass media is the first goal of this step. Publishing crime figures and data in the local paper, writing informative articles in a community bulletin, and posting various fliers around the neighborhood outlining the problem are a few of many approaches that will bring public attention to the issue. Also, due to increased computer usage and internet access, the installation of a community website as a means to post articles, distribute emails, and generally raise awareness of the issue is a major asset. In fact, as the program progresses, the use of a community web site will become an invaluable tool when used alongside regular, face-to-face meetings as it brings infinite flexibility and removes the need for well-defined scheduling.