Neighborhood Watch
Axios
Policing
Solution types
Neighborhood Watch
Problems addressed
Crime and delinquency (multiple types)
Effectiveness

No Effect

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No Effect

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Life periods served
People of all ages
Where the program was applied
Community (streets or community centers)
Country of application
United Kingdom
Description

This is a three-pronged policing strategy:
1) Residents who are alert to criminal activity and willing to report their suspicions to authorities;
2) Signage of private property; and
3) Home security questionnaires.
Monthly bulletins were prepared and meetings were convened among police officers, community leaders, and residents interested in reporting crimes in the designated areas and discussing actions to improve the strategies.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation found that the program may have been ineffective to reduce crime because insufficient attention was paid to efforts to increase informal social control. This may be justified because the program did not include as many meetings as originally planned and did not devote sufficient resources to property signage and home security questionnaires [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Bennett, T. H. (1990). Evaluating neighborhood watch. Cambridge Studies in Criminology.

Information source