NCJ Number
45042
Date Published
1977
Length
60 pages
Annotation
A PROJECT DESIGNED TO EDUCATE AND INVOLVE CITIZENS OF DENVER, COLO., IN WAYS OF AVOIDING VICTIMIZATION BY RAPE, ROBBERY, ASSAULT, AND BURGLARY IS EVALUATED.
Abstract
NEIGHBORS AGAINST CRIME TOGETHER (NEIGHBORS ACT) WAS A 20-MONTH, $1.3 MILLION PROJECT SPONSORED BY THE DENVER ANTICRIME COUNCIL AND FUNDED BY LEAA AND BY THE CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER. THE PROJECT INCLUDED A CITYWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN AND A PILOT ORGANIZING EFFORT IN SELECTED HIGH-CRIME NEIGHBORHOODS. DURING THE PERIOD OF PROJECT OPERATION, CITYWIDE BURGLARY, ROBBERY, AND ASSAULT RATES DECLINED 10 TO 15 PERCENT, BUT THE RAPE RATE INCREASED BY 8 PERCENT. ALTHOUGH COMPARABLE DECREASES WERE NOTED IN THE PILOT NEIGHBORHOODS, DECREASES WERE ALSO RECORDED IN HIGH-CRIME NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE NEIGHBORS ACT ORGANIZERS DID NOT WORK. THE PROJECT WAS HANDICAPPED FROM THE BEGINNING BY A WEAK MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE. LEAA REQUIRED THE CITY TO PRODUCE A REORGANIZATION PLAN OR TERMINATE THE PROJECT. THE REORGANIZATION PLAN WAS NOT APPROVED, AND, DESPITE THE SUCCESSES OF THE MEDIA CAMPAIGN AND SOME EVIDENCE OF REDUCED CRIME RATES, THE PROJECT WAS TERMINATED. SUPPORTING DATA AND DOCUMENTATION ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)