McGruff Globetrots Around the World

You name the continent, McGruff has been there. His presence has been found in small towns and big cities as far away as Chile, England, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Philippines, Panama, Nova Scotia, New Zealand, Calgary, and many other places.

The U.S. Army,  U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard can take much of the credit for getting McGruff overseas.  The military widely uses McGruff in its crime prevention efforts and almost every post or base has a McGruff costume and supporting materials.

In 1990, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Army requested assistance from NCPC to create and implement a drug and crime prevention program in the Republic of Panama. 

In 1998, children and adults in Chile were introduced to Don Graf® (McGruff) and Escraf® (Scruff) and learned how to Dale un Mordisco a la Delincuencia® (Take A Bite Out Of Crime). The Fundacion Paz Ciudadana (FPC), a nonpartisan organization in Chile working to prevent crime, reduce recidivism, and promote civic peace, tapped into NCPC's experience in advertising and publications and began a national crime prevention campaign in Chile. In the years since, FPC has created its own original advertising and countless supporting materials, making them appropriate and credible to Chilean audiences. 

"When Fundación Paz Ciudadana asked for our help we saw it as an opportunity to share what we have learned in a new environment. These learnings have been directly applicable to our work here in the United States. We developed a better sense of our ability to provide technical assistance in developing crime prevention campaigns, we witnessed the extraordinary communication power of the symbol McGruff, we adapted appropriately to a different cultural context, and we learned lessons from our very capable partners in South America. These insights help us do a better job here in the United States," said John Rosiak, director of Initiatives for Children and Youth at NCPC.

This past year, FPC continued to produce many educational materials for children, families, and educators. FPC, in partnership with Farmacias Salcobrand (Salcobrand Pharmacy), produced and disseminated S.O.S. Kids magazines through every Salcobrand Pharmacy in Chile.  These crime prevention magazines featuring Don Graf and Escraf encourage children and families to create safer communities by caring for each other (solidaridad). In partnership with ProArte Color, FPC produced the 2004 Agenda Segura, a schedule book for children that contains crime prevention messages and games for the school year.

El Mercurio (one of the main newspapers in Chile) partnered with FPC to begin development and dissemination of Don Graf, El Perro Guardian, a series of ten collectible comic-activity books.  The goal of the series is to encourage communication within families and help develop resilience among children.  The comic-activity books are disseminated monthly with the newspaper and are supported by private business sponsors such as Salcobrand, Lider, Almacenes Paris, Bilz Pap, Metrogas, ProArte Color, and Banefe. The webpage, www.dongraf.cl, has been periodically updated to address the needs and concerns of children, parents, and educators.

NCPC staff meet with representatives from other countries to discuss crime prevention strategies and effective organizational approaches. Visitors range from prosecutors and heads of law enforcement agencies to leaders in drug prevention, youth services, and health programs.