NCJ Number
75639
Date Published
1980
Length
175 pages
Annotation
The accomplishments of the LEAA-funded Walter P. Reuther Senior Centers Crime Prevention Project in Detroit, Michigan, from November, 1978 to December, 1980, are described.
Abstract
The Project was designed to mobilize older persons and others in the community to become involved in crime prevention activities in their neighborhoods, and to reduce crime and the fear of crime among Detroit senior citizens. To accomplish these goals, the Reuther Senior Centers organized crime prevention activities at each of the agency's three senior centers and provided funding and technical assistance to six community-based organizations to carry on specific crime prevention activities as subcontractors. These subcontractor activities included developing bilingual crime prevention materials and programs for Detroit's Latino community, replacing obsolete security devices in homes in the community, developing a senior citizen's escort program, and organizing neighborhood and apartment watch programs. The Project also organized crime prevention activities at other senior centers, housing and nutrition sites, and among smaller neighborhood groups. The results of surveys conducted at the start and at the end of the project indicate that the senior citizens participating in the project experienced a reduction in victimization (from 45 percent to 11 percent) and a reduction in their fear of crime (from 75 percent to 62 percent). 'Crime Prevention for Senior Citizens: An Action Guide,' a Project-developed resource kit for other Detroit-area community organizations interested in conducting crime prevention programs and other Project crime prevention literature are appended.