What Have We Learned From Evaluations of Community-Based Crime Prevention Programs?
What We Know Studies have shown that some community-based crime prevention programs have: • increased citizen satisfaction with police; • reduced resident fear of crime; • increased resident involvement in crime prevention activities; • increased interactions between residents and police; and • reduced crime. However, outcomes to be dependent on program type and the circumstances in which the program is implemented. That is, not all community-based crime prevention programs have shown evidence of success and an effort that has been shown to be successful in one community may see limited success in another. Program evaluations also indicate that the likelihood of success can be increased by the early participation of community leaders or others with experience in building partnerships. It is possible that some community-based crime prevention programs do better than others at accomplishing certain objectives. Though it is unclear why, Neighborhood Watch has been shown to decrease crime.
