NCJ Number
81036
Date Published
1981
Length
278 pages
Annotation
A Portland, Oreg., community crime prevention program is briefly described, and findings are presented from an evaluation of the program. A progress report on the Neighborhoods Against Crime (NAC) program in Portland is included.
Abstract
During the past 3 years, NAC has brought citizens together to design solutions to their crime problems. The overall goals of NAC have been to plan and implement anticrime program, reduce fear of crime, and assess the program's impact. Crime prevention approaches developed have included neighborhood meetings, block watch groups, protective techniques, target hardening, security surveys, and site-hardening. Special programs have targeted the needs of women, the elderly, low-income persons, and juveniles. Evaluation data were collected through a survey instrument consisting of various questions about crime prevention, use of protective techniques, chances of victimization, participation in various crime prevention activities, etc. A total of 1,042 people were interviewed. One of the most significant findings was the high citizen participation in crime prevention activities; nearly 84 percent of the sample have participated in crime prevention activities. Burglary victimization rates for the participants and nonparticipants were not significantly different. The fear of crime was slightly higher among participants than nonparticipants. Participants were more aware of crime prevention than nonparticipants, and participants tended to report burglaries at a higher rate than nonparticipants. Newspaper articles on the crime prevention program are provided, and the appendixes contain the survey instrument, data on participation in six crime prevention activities by segment, and a comparative analysis of demographic characteristics of two sample populations. Extensive tabular data are provided in the body of the report, and seven references are included.