Celebrating Crime Prevention

Al Lenhardt, President and CEO, NCPC

The glaring headlines about the recent spike in violent street crime in a number of cities obscures the success of crime prevention measures across the country. But we know these crime prevention measures have helped to dramatically reduce overall crime rates from one coast to another.

Troubling as the recent surges in crime may have been, the truth is that crime remains at historically low figures. The summer’s headlines would have us believe that the work of police and citizens over the last decade has come undone, but a look at national crime statistics gathered by the U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) tells a different story. According to BJS, violent crime rates (rape, robbery, and assault) have declined since 1994, reaching the lowest levels in the survey’s 33-year history in 2005. Robbery rates set a similar record decrease.  In a steady decline since 1974, when rates were at their highest level at 111.8 per 1,000 households, the number dropped to 29.5 per 1,000 households according to this new report.

The fact is that many people once driven inside their homes, behind locked doors, are back sitting on their porches, enjoying their parks, and walking to their corner stores. Across the country, in one town after another, crime rates have plummeted. It’s not like that everywhere, of course, but progress has been made. There are many reasons why, but among them are the twin pillars of crime prevention and community policing. Law enforcement officers have become problem solvers in the community. In many communities, urban, suburban, and rural, citizens are working with local law enforcement to develop strategies to keep crime happening. And working together with local police, streets and neighborhoods one step, one corner, one block at a time has made a real difference in the lives of many citizens, young and old. This is a cause for celebration this Crime Prevention Month. Below are some examples of what folks and police across the country, working together, are doing.

Crime Prevention from Coast to Coast

San Diego, CA: Retired seniors are making a difference in San Diego by taking part in the Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP) Program of the San Diego Police Department. Volunteers in the RSVP program help observe and patrol neighborhoods, perform home checks for vacationing citizens, visit homebound and isolated people, assist detectives in distributing crime alerts or crime prevention information, and conduct surveys. 

Tempe, AZ:  The Volunteers in Policing program in Tempe has more than 130 volunteers who help the local police department with a number of activities, including a motorist service, which deploys volunteers to aid stranded motorists, and interpreter services, in which volunteers help the police communicate with those who don’t speak English. Both of these services free up the time of the police force for other duties. The volunteer program also has an active crime prevention effort that provides educational and community outreach programs to the public.

Billings, MT: Many of the Volunteers in Police Service volunteers in the Billings Police Department work in one of three Community Oriented Policing (COP) Shops located around the city. At the COP Shops, volunteers assist the department by taking police reports on cold calls pertaining to theft, vandalism, traffic, and lost-and-found property. Volunteers contact victims of crimes when additional information is needed. COP Shop volunteers also phone individuals who have an arrest warrant for traffic and misdemeanor offenses, encouraging them to clear the warrants, and offering them payment options.

Denver, CO: The Denver Police Department has come to rely on its Volunteers in Police Service Program for able administrative support that frees up its own officers for other duties. For example, when recruiters were unable to keep up with the hundreds of weekly employment inquiries they received via email, five volunteers were assigned to the Recruitment Section to respond to the requests. But it doesn’t stop there: Of the 100-plus volunteers, a retired sheriff assists investigators by working cold cases, and a retired businessman, who started his own aviation company, copilots the department’s helicopter. To foster departmental partnerships, the police department places volunteers in other city agencies, such as the city attorney’s office, where volunteers assist with cases filed by the police.

Hamilton County, OH: Citizens of Hamilton County are safer today thanks to a unique partnership between local real estate agents and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. Launched by real estate agents in concert with county law enforcement, Real Estate Watch works much like a Neighborhood Watch program, with the Sheriff’s Office providing training on how to recognize and report suspicious activity. Each participating real estate office receives information about criminal activity in the area through a special email system.  Participants attend weekly meetings and learn the specifics about what they should be on the lookout for.

Bath, ME:  The Community–Police Partnership program of the Bath Police Department consists of active volunteers who help identify community problems, exchange information, and coordinate interaction between the public and the police to make the city a safer place to live. Volunteers also participate in the Juvenile Resolution Team, which works with first-time, nonfelony, juvenile offenders. This program avoids the court process and brings the offenders and their families together with the victims to restore justice to the victims and to prevent re-offending.

Triana, AL: The Boys & Girls Club of Triana is the only source of recreation for about 25 youth ranging in age from six to 18. Triana is a rural community with approximately 1,000 residents, most of whom live on fixed or low incomes. Triana suffers from significant crime. The Boys & Girls Club formed its own crime prevention club to help address the issue of crime. The youth worked for months to bring a community crime prevention program to town. They hosted an event where citizens could hear about the city’s new anonymous tip line direct to the police department, new crime prevention signs placed throughout the city, and direct-line police radios for use by citizens. Many of these crime prevention resources were proposed by the club youth who also took classes in crime prevention given by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and the Triana police chief.

Washington, DC: In the Washington metropolitan area, Metro Citizen Corps—in conjunction with the Metro Transit Police—provides Community Emergency Response Team members from Virginia, Maryland, and the District with a training program that teaches them how to react to emergencies; the program covers subjects ranging from rail safety and evacuation routes to identification of criminal and terrorist activity.

Crime Prevention Can’t Stop

Crime prevention cannot be a one-shot deal.  It must educate new cohorts as babies become children, teens, adults, and seniors.  It must adapt to changing environments, new technologies and inventive criminal strategies.  It must engage was to use new technologies to prevent crime. It must be prepared to deal with the new situations, new complications, and new populations of today and tomorrow.  It must also continue to address the ongoing crimes of yesterday as they move into tomorrow.  And the National Crime Prevention Council is prepared to help meet these needs.

In the words of NCPC Board Chairman, U.J. Brualdi, Jr., NCPC accomplishes its mission by “bringing together the experts, programs, and resources to ensure our success in protecting children and youth, partnering with government and law enforcement, promoting crime prevention and personal safety basics, and responding to emerging crime trends.”

But we would not be successful if it were not for those in local communities who carry the torch for their fellow residents day in and day out. October is Crime Prevention Month. As we celebrate it, we send thanks for all you do to make your communities safe from crime.