The Theory of Neighbourhood Watch - Report Example

Name : xxxxxx Tutor : xxxxxxx Title : Neighborhood Watch Institution : xxxxxxx @2015 Executive Summary This essay is about Neighbourhood Watch Programs as a method of crime reduction. Further, the concept of its success in the UK and USA will be comparatively discussed. The applicability of neighborhood watch in the UAE will then be discussed and the factors for or against its successful implementation. Introduction Neighbourhood Watch is a community based crime prevention program where residents join into small groups called blocks for sharing information on crime in their area. The earliest efforts for Neighbourhood Watch programs in the U.S.A begun in the early 1970’s after the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in Chicago. The National Neighbourhood Watch was set up in 1972 by the National Sheriffs’ Association after a grant by the Bureau of Justice Assistance [i]. The first such program in the UK, on the other hand, was in Mollington, Chesire in 1982. Evaluation on the uptake of neighbourhood watch schemes in the UK was estimated by the 2000 British Crime Survey at over a quarter of all households in England and Wales (Sims, 2001). This is roughly an excess of 155 000 active schemes. In the same year, it was estimated that 41 per cent of Americans were under neighborhood watch in their communities (National Crime Prevention Council, 2001). The Theory of Neighbourhood Watch Neighbourhood Watch programs entail availing information related to preventing crime and surveillance plans for the area (Rosenbaum, 1986). The initial block meeting is set up by the local law enforcement paving way for subsequent meetings under the block leader on solutions and perception to the crime problem (National Sheriff’s Association, 2004). The program aims to foster social cohesion by recognizing that residents are isolated and fearful of crime, and therefore the need to foster contact amongst themselves (Garofalo & McLeod, 1989; Rosenbaum, 1986). By providing increased community cohesion, Neighbourhood Watch programs decrease fear of crime among residents ultimately deterring crime from happening (Greenberg et al, 1985; Lavrakas & Lewis, 1980). It is a scheme adopted by both urbanites and the rural population in most developed countries especially in the USA and the UK with the central aim of preventing crime and enhancing security in their neighbourhoods. The program is on a voluntary basis with the only fundamental benefit being a safe neighborhood. Neighborhood watch operates with considerable social bias majorly because it is a voluntary action [Abe95] The main philosophies and motivation behind these programs that have been replicated the world over include: to sensitize citizens to the presence of crime in their neighbourhoods and the importance of eliminating or reducing the same; to motivate them into taking action rather than watching from their safety nets; to organize the willing participants and provide a working schedule to monitor the streets and neighbourhoods in general; and to train all or most of the residents on detection of crimes being perpetrated, description of suspects and general defense tactics in case one became a victim of such offences[Nat151]. The main goal of neighbourhood watch is to help one protect their property and reduce fear in their community on possibility of crime commission by improved home security, vigilance, improved environment and community cohesion([Nid15] Another goal is to improve communication and flow of relevant information between the police and the residents of that neighbourhood to detect, prevent and arrest as applicable. Neighbourhood watch helps neighbors get to interact therefore know each other, be trained to recognize and describe suspicious characters with the least rate of false alarming and techniques to employ in preventing home invasions. Overview of a Basic neighbourhood watch program A needs assessment will be done in the U.A.E. by pointing out at the rise of crime incidences in the neighbourhood and solutions to those adverse factors to the neighbours along the streets, busy market places and places of worship. The pointers of this decay are muggings, peddling of drugs blatantly, frequent but random shootings, home invasions and unruly behavior in the youth [Cit1]. Secondly, a system to report crimes and remain anonymous is worked out with the police to heighten confidence amongst the residents without fear of victimization by the criminals. In the UK this is done by dialing 141 before the Crimestoppers number 0800555111 which blocks the caller’s phone number and cannot be traced([Dat15]. It is wise noting that, at the point that the neighbours and residents are not judge and jury in them. They are law loving citizens who report crimes and prevent it from happening rather than enforce the rule of law or apprehend criminal elements within their neighbourhoods. Once the volunteers are available, they should be trained in conjunction with the local police and other relevant local authorities on crime detection, prevention and reporting. They are taught to look out on the contributors of the offence such as poor street lighting, unkempt bushes, vacant buildings and abandoned cars in their vicinity. A study (2006-2007) for the effect of trees on crime in Portland, Oregon was done by Donovan and Prestemon. During this period, 431 crimes were reported in the 2813 single-family homes taken as their sample. Smaller trees that obstructed view of the houses were found to increase crime while larger unobtrusive trees helped reduce crime.[Don12]. The role of citizens in environmental audits for crime prevention is immense. Area residents and employees frequently recognize crime-environment problems familiar to their place. They can explain trends and events that cannot be obtained through data analysis. They are a critical data collection resource and serve as a link to the community as a line of communication ([Dia07] They also look out for suspicious characters such as someone moving from one house to the other peeping through windows, a wanderer without a particular destination within the neighbourhood or slow moving strange vehicles in the neighbourhood that do not seem destined to anywhere in specific. To protect the youth and children in the neighbourhood especially in these times of gang-related crimes and drug abuse, the volunteers are taught to watch out for various indicators. These may include a stranger wooing a resistant kid, business conducted through vehicles whether parked or moving slowly, persons moving property on foot while running at suspicious times of the night mostly or even sudden interest by the neighbourhood youth on an unoccupied building within at disturbing hours [Cit1] Trainees are taught to call the police immediately or the coordinator of the program in their vicinity quickly they establish probable cause for alarm first. They then inform their fellow neighbours of the occurrence to mobilize a standby response team. However, they should never attempt to apprehend or face the criminal elements without the police in tow lest they jeopardize their lives or the justice system of dealing with the elements [Cit1] Since the program is a joint venture with the police, they are mandated with setting up a reliable dial number for the residents to report through. They should have a log of all neighbourhood houses’ phone numbers and address location to register all incoming calls, when they were called in and level of priority given then for perusal and adjustments in future when called to. Local authorities are looped in to provide emergency contacts for ambulances, firefighters or other aid givers [Cit1] Priority should get given to crimes against persons rather than property, those ongoing rather than the already committed ones or those with fatalities especially of a vehicular nature or raging fire [Cit1] In crimes against individuals, the defining phenomenon is mostly that the suspect be still on the scene, a kidnapping be underway, suspect be threatening with some weapon, there be a hostage takeover or a sexual assault be in progress [Cit1] Crimes for public safety are noted when shots get fired, or there are incessant screams whose message elicits fear, distress and imminent threat in the callers opinion. Lesser priority to calls is mostly in traffic related calls such as drunk driving, a struck pedestrian, and a traffic danger along the road or a non-fatal hazard that creates a nuisance. They may also be calls for a dead body on scene without a suspect on sight or the feeling of them being around, a domestic abuse case where the suspect is not on scene, reports of vicious animals in the neighbourhood or explosives materials found stashed in the vicinity[Cit1] In the rare cases where the neighbourhoods watch volunteers have apprehended the suspect into their custody, the response priority is lesser. The same attention is given to a call on drug-related activities or civil trouble from a neighbour. The lowest priority is given to calls needing police reports or those that are only receiving previously asked for information from the public about crime watch in the locality [Cit1]. It would negate the gains of a call if the description given of say a crime scene or suspected offender cannot lead to their apprehension. The local community is therefore provided with a summary checklist to refer to when making the calls to the rapid response contact supplied by the area police department. A good example of a case study is from the City of Cleveland Bureau of Community Policing Neighborhood Watch Training Manual. The duties of security personnel such as the police get complimented by the neighbourhood residents taking an interest in their home security. It is accomplished by installing the right door locks, window sills, porch or balcony night light bulbs and alarms. Further, they should vet any house helps and other laborers in their employ such as gardeners to avoid intimate misfit elements against undertaking a crime against them [Cit1] Finally, the spirit of the neighbourhood watch should be kept on a high and complacency shunned to eradicate crime and ensure best neighbourhoods that are safe and comfortable to survive. All residents should be cooperative with the local authorities and aim to prevent rather than report and apprehend crime perpetrators. Interest in neighbourhood watch In the recent years, the United Arab Emirates has become the global hub of tourism and international economic conferences. It attracts thousands of arrivals every day to explore and sample the Oasis in the Desert mantra. This has resulted in the government upgrading the infrastructure of the transport and telecommunication networks to keep up with the new visitors’ expectations. Various hotels and apartments have come up with plans to settle in those who apply for long-term visas than the typical tourist. However, the bold realtors are enjoining the UAE with the rest of the developed world by providing exclusive neighbourhoods rather than hotels to cater to the high-end clientele who would rather feel at home even when abroad. The local population is also taking in the idea of neighbourhoods due to the improved standards of living for most people in the UAE. In the UAE as in all other countries, crime indices are on the rise as criminals seek to fleece the newfound catch of unsuspecting tourists, instances of identity theft and other cyber-crimes notwithstanding. A check at trends in crime from INTERPOL data show that between 1998 and 1999 in the UAE, the murder rate increased to 2.99 from 0.78 per 100 000 population, 283.3% increase. The rate of rape cases increased by 113.7% in the same period while robbery increased from 0.04 to 0.41 per 100 000 persons. Aggravated assault incidences rose from 1.8 to 10.11, an increase of 461.7%.[DrR151] As such, I developed an interest in guarding against the nightmarish idea of living in unsafe neighbourhoods. This has led me to develop an interest in the topic of the neighbourhood and on the subject of neighbourhood watch. There is a need for communities to get sensitized about the looming crime up rise in the newfound neighbourhood setups. Further, there are limited if any studies on neighbourhood watch in the UAE and I felt the need to advance that agenda to avail such information to the public domain for preparedness. There is also need for planners, local authorities, residents of the neighbourhoods, the police and other relevant persons to come together and form cohesive units of trust to curb the adverse effects of a flourishing community in regard to crime especially and unsafe neighbourhoods. Applicability of Neighbourhood Watch in the UAE Neighbourhood Watch programs cannot be applicable in the UAE. This can be attributed to some of the challenges facing their implementation as discussed below. First, the concept of neighbourhood watch is a new one in the UAE. As such, the absence of this culture in this country is in itself a hindrance to the applicability of the program. Another prominent challenge is the lack of sufficient scientific studies sources on Neighbourhood Watch programs in the UAE. In most developed countries especially the UK, USA and Australia, most cities have manuals to guide on the implementation of a successful neighbourhood watch program. Examples include City of Santa Ana and the City of Portland, Oregon in the U.S.A, North East Loincolnshire Council in the U.K and Adelaide City Council in Australia.There is need therefore for more studies on the subject with respect to the UAE seeing as the social setup is different and more distinctly alike rather than diversified as is elsewhere in the world. There is a pronounced police presence that watches over homes and streets therefore eliminating the need for a neighborhood watch. For example, along 201st Street in Al Rashidiya, one can observe police patrol vehicles circling the block of villas or walking along talking with residents and resolving even street brawls on the ground (UAE Interact, 2013). A serious challenge is the technology savvy crimes unique to UAE due to a sophisticated people. Rampant cases of cyber theft and online fraud including identity theft are what characterize the cities. It is done by criminals within the UAE and even some from abroad. Their targets are innocent citizens and residents who fall prey to their extortion. (Abu Dhabi Police GHQ, 2013). Due to this sophistication, neighbourhood watch may better be set up to liberate residents in matters technology. A virtual neighborhood watch is possible though as has been started in Cleveland with the app called Nextdoor. The app allows intr and inter-neighborhood communication on breakins while passing the same information to the police. Each resident registers freely with their true name and address while choosing what information to share. The website used is encrypted using a secure web address[Jon15] Other challenges would be prejudicial treatment of strangers to extremes such as racial stereotypes. A case in point was witnessed in the US with the shooting of 17 year old Florida unarmed victim Trayvon Martin by a watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida. He later died while undergoing medical care[She12]. High tech gadgets that leave no trail and cannot be traced in case of an online or cyber-crime as is common in the UAE would prove elusive to the program. There is also a significant risk factor of criminals within the residents. These would know the intricate details of the program and use the information to perpetrate the crimes while eluding detection. By this I mean criminals who masquerade as law abiding residents in the social arena but when left to their gadgets at the privacy of their homes, commit crimes against their very neighbours. Conclusion Neighbourhood watch is a new concept in the UAE. Its implementation and application may not be possible currently. However, with the general trend in crime indices there is need to undertake studies on this subject unique to UAE with respect to its social setup as compared to other developed economies. References i: , (National Neighbourhood Watch), Abe95: , (Aberystwyth, 1995), Nat151: , (National Crime Prevention Council), Nid15: , (Nidirect website), Cit1: , (City of Cleveland-Division of Police), Dat15: , (Data Police UK), Don12: , (Donovan, 2012), Dia07: , (Zahm, 2007), DrR151: , (Winsloy, 2015), Jon15: , (alexander, 2015), She12: , (Eldred, 2012), Works Cited i: , (National Neighbourhood Watch), Abe95: , (Aberystwyth, 1995), Nat151: , (National Crime Prevention Council), Nid15: , (Nidirect website), Cit1: , (City of Cleveland-Division of Police), Dat15: , (Data Police UK), Don12: , (Donovan, 2012), Dia07: , (Zahm, 2007), DrR151: , (Winsloy, 2015), Jon15: , (alexander, 2015), She12: , (Eldred, 2012), Read More