NCJ Number
87609
Date Published
1982
Length
95 pages
Annotation
The Midwood Kings Highway Development Corporation in Brooklyn, N.Y., is a comprehensive anticrime and neighborhood revitalization program with unique and replicable features.
Abstract
The program was highly successful in coordinating the anticrime activities of local civic associations, including 50 block and tenant organizations staffed by volunteers serving as 'block watchers' and in other crime prevention activities. The program developed the idea of a telephone alert chain, wherea resident facing an emergency would have three neighbors to call for help in addition to the 911 number. Car and tenant patrols were set up, Operation Identification and other residential security projects were established, and security devices intruder alarms, locks for the elderly, etc.) were distributed to civic associations. The program encouraged citizen-police cooperation and served as a 'town hall' for handling citizen complaints against city services. Other components of the program included youth services, public education campaigns, a housing project (encouraging landlords to rehabilitate their buildings), and commercial revitalization activities. The Midwood example highlights major issues citizens shoulds address in setting up crime prevention programs in their own communities, especially the importance of recording program activities and assessing their impact. Appendixes include a sample residents' newsletter, survey instruments, and other program forms. Footnotes and tables are provided.