REDUCING RESIDENTIAL CRIME AND FEAR - THE HARTFORD (CT) NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAM - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• NCJ Number: 54878
• Author(s): F J FOWLER; M E MACCALLA; T W MANGIONE
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 110 pages
• Grant Number(s): 73-NI-99-0044-G
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: Hartford Institute of Criminal and Social Justice
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE REPORT SUMMARIZES A COMPREHENSIVE CRIME CONTROL PLANNING/DEMONSTRATION/EVALUATION PROJECT CONDUCTED IN AN URBAN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD IN HARTFORD,. CONN.

Abstract

THE HARTFORD PROGRAM WAS BASED ON THE ASSUMPTIONS (A) THAT CERTAIN FEATURES OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT MAY INFLUENCE THE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR OF RESIDENTS, POLICE, AND OTHERS WHO USE THAT ENVIRONMENT IN SUCH A WAY AS TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CRIME TO OCCUR, AND (B) THAT MODIFICATION OF THESE CONDITIONS CAN THEREFORE LEAD TO A REDUCTION IN CRIME. THE PROJECT CONDUCTED THREE MAJOR RESEARCH TASKS. FIRST, AN EXTENSIVE 'CRIME PROBLEM ANALYSIS' WAS CONDUCTED IN THE TARGET AREA, AND DATA GATHERED FROM RESIDENTS, POLICE, AND PHYSICAL SITE SURVEYS WERE COLLECTIVELY EXAMINED TO IDENTIFY THEIR CRIME-GENERATING FEATURES. THIS ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT PHYSICAL LOCATION, NEAR MAJOR HARTFORD COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL AREAS, PLUS 'POROUSNESS,' CREATED BY A LARGE NUMBER OF THROUGH STREETS, HAD CAUSED THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO BECOME A PASSAGEWAY FOR A LARGE AMOUNT OF TRANSIENT VEHICULAR TRAFFIC, ROBBING IT OF ITS RESIDENTIAL CHARACTER. NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS DID NOT FEEL A PART OF THEIR COMMUNITY, DID NOT USE ITS PARKS OR STREETS, DID NOT KNOW THEIR NEIGHBORS, AND DID NOT (OR COULD NOT) EXERCISE CONTROL OVER ACTIVITIES OCCURRING IN THEIR AREA. THESE PHYSICAL AND BEHAVIORAL FEATURES HAD THUS CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE CRIMES COULD EASILY OCCUR UNOBSERVED AND UNREPORTED. THE SECOND MAJOR TASK OF THE RESEARCH WAS TO DESIGN A COMPREHENSIVE CRIME CONTROL PROGRAM AIMED AT IMPROVING NEIGHBORHOOD CONDITIONS AND TO SUPERVISE AND MONITOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION. THE PROGRAM INCLUDED THREE STRATEGY COMPONENTS: PHYSICAL STRATEGIES (STREET CLOSINGS AND REROUTING OF TRAFFIC), POLICE STRATEGIES (NEIGHBORHOOD TEAM POLICING EMPHASIZING INTERACTION WITH AREA RESIDENTS), AND COMMUNITY STRATEGIES (STRENGTHENING OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND INITIATION OF CITIZEN CRIME PREVENTION ACTIVITIES). FINALLY, A DETAILED 1-YEAR EVALUATION OF PROGRAM IMPACT ON CRIME, FEAR, AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE TARGET AREA WAS CONDUCTED. THESE SHORT-TERM ASSESSMENT FINDINGS SHOW SUBSTANTIAL PROGRAM SUCCESS, WITH A 42 PERCENT REDUCTION IN BURGLARY, A 28 PERCENT REDUCTION IN ROBBERY, AND CORRESPONDING REDUCTIONS IN THE FEAR OF THESE CRIMES. OTHER SUCCESSFUL IMPACTS INCLUDED A REDUCTION IN TRANSIENT VEHICULAR TRAFFIC, IMPROVED POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS, AND INCREASED RESIDENT INTERACTION AND USE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD. TABULAR DATA AND MAPS ARE PROVIDED.