NCJ Number
116976
Date Published
1989
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Summary description of crime prevention programs in Australia encompass neighborhood watch, school-based policing, truancy patrols, drug-abuse prevention, and commercial/residential security information.
Abstract
The neighborhood watch program in Australia is a most visible and substantial police effort to develop proactive, community-based crime prevention. The program organizes residents into neighborhood groups or zones as a vehicle for providing crime prevention information, property identification, household security, and the reporting of suspicious activities. School-based policing involves the placing of constables in some secondary schools to provide counseling and communication with students and to respond to crimes on school grounds. Truancy patrols conduct random spot checks of school-aged youth in residential areas and shopping centers during school hours. Discos free from alcohol and drugs are supervised by police, often in their off-duty hours. Since 1985, police throughout Australia have coordinated Operation NOAH (Narcotics, Opiates, Amphetamines, Hashish) to encourage the community to cooperate with the police in reporting drug offenses. Police also use the media to encourage citizen crime reporting. In 1985 the Commonwealth and State governments launched a national campaign against drug abuse.