NCJ Number
220627
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 47 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2007 Pages: 711-727
Date Published
September 2007
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the promise and potential problems that arise when neighborhoods with diverse populations attempt to organize and develop policies and practices for crime prevention.
Abstract
When neighborhoods consist of individuals and families of different races/ethnicities, countries of origin, and cultural conditioning, efforts to organize the neighborhood for crime prevention carry the risk of having dominant homogeneous groups intensify the marginalization and exclusion of minorities in the neighborhood, who are viewed as the sources of antisocial and criminal behaviors. This can be avoided if those providing the leadership in community organizing adopt democratic principles of inclusion and respect for those different from oneself. This will result in efforts to include all neighborhood residents in the analysis of what the neighborhood needs in order to reduce levels of antisocial and criminal behaviors that may derive from community social and economic conditions. This can then result in cooperative action by community members committed to changing neighborhood conditions that may cause or aggravate criminal behaviors while creating a social environment that fosters the positive behaviors of cooperation, respect, and caring for all who live in the neighborhood. 52 references