Tag Archive for: Criminal

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Neighbourhood Watch

Origins

Neighbourhood Watch originated in the US in the late 1960s as a response to the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese in New York. It was estimated that 38 witnesses saw or heard the attack, but none of them called the police or came to her aid. This motivated a community response and the very first Neighbourhood Watch scheme was set up in New York,

 The program was inspired in part by Jane Jacobs‘ The Death and Life of Great American Cities , which argued that Americans need to keep their “eyes on the streets” and connect with each other in their neighbourhoods. National law enforcement agencies began pushing for community members to get more involved with reporting crimes at the local level by forming groups to watch over their neighbourhoods and to look out for any suspicious activity in their areas.

During the first few years of the program, neighbourhood watch functioned primarily as an intermediary between local law enforcement agencies and neighborhoods, to pass along information about burglaries and thefts in specific neighborhoods.

Goals of Neighbourhood Watch

The goals of a Neighbourhood Watch programs are to:

  1. Improve community safety generally including, e.g., fire safety.
  2. Prevent crime by improving security, increasing vigilance, creating and maintaining a caring community and reducing opportunities for crime by increasing crime prevention awareness.
  3. Assist the police in detecting crime by promoting effective communication and the prompt reporting of suspicious and criminal activity.
  4. Reduce undue fear of crime by providing accurate information about risks and by promoting a sense of security and community spirit, particularly amongst the more vulnerable members of the community.
  5. Improve police/community relations by providing effective communications through Neighbourhood Watch messaging systems to warn Coordinators of local crime trends which they can share with their members, and by members informing the police of incidents when they occur.

Making It Work

Neighbourhood Watch works best when everyone on a block knows everyone else. People tend to help people they know.

One tool I’ve seen used is a map or schematic of the street showing each house’s address and the names of the family members in them, including children. When you walk down the street, you’ll be able to greet your neighbours on a first-name basis.

Another tool that’s worked is to have an annual block party. It’s a great way to get to know your neighbours better and to establish stronger relationships with them. Because people can move on from time to time, a block party is a great way to welcome newcomers or to wish departing neighbours farewell.

When you know your neighbours, you know who belongs in your neighbourhood and who does not.

If you see a stranger nosing around a neighbour’s house or car, call the police. It may be something innocent, but you may help catch a criminal.

If you see a strange vehicle driving slowly along the street, it could be a criminal researching your block. Again, call the police.

You may hear, from the Neighbourhood Watch Facebook group, about some suspicious activity in your area. If you have security cameras installed around your house, check to see if they’ve captured something that confirms what’s happening. Share it with the police. It could help find and convict a criminal before they can do more harm.

Resources

On Facebook, you can find a Neighbourhood Watch group organized in Long Branch. It’s free to join. Once you’ve joined the group you can post to the group when you see something suspicious, and, of course, you’ll see what other members have posted.

There is also a site called Neighbourhood Protect that connects with the Toronto Police Service so you can receive and view up-to-date crime reports. You’ll need to set up a free account and set your profile to identify you live in Toronto and that you also live in Long Branch, but this can be done in less than 5 minutes.

Learn More

Here are some useful videos that can help you. All are only 10 – 15 minutes long.

Training Video – Part I

This video is about knowing what and who belongs and doesn’t belong in your neighbourhood. It also reminds us that Neighbourhood Watch is not a vigilante group. Do not confront potential criminals and put yourself at risk. Don’t be afraid to phone the police.

Training Video – Part II

This video is about two programs: CrimeStoppers and Operation Identification. It also has some tips on how you can help your neighbours avoid becoming victims.

Training Video – Part III

This describes some real-life examples of how some residents assisted the police. It also has some good tips to help prevent auto theft.

Training Video – Part IV

Learn how to make entryways more secure. You’ll learn about potential vulnerabilities in your locks that will surprise you. Lots of good suggestions about deterrents to make your house more secure.

We’ll post more articles about some of the topics covered in the videos. If you have a special topic you’d like to learn more about, please contact us at community.safety@lbna.ca

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Understanding Opportunity

In our last post, we touched on Motive and Means and the role they play in criminal activity.

We also pointed out there is virtually nothing you can do to affect a criminal’s Motives and relatively little you can do to limit a criminal’s Means to break into your house or vehicle.

Opportunity – the third part of the triad – is one that you most definitely control.

In a criminal’s mind, an ideal opportunity has 3 components: 1., Time to perform his activity, 2., relatively low Risk of being caught and 3., high Return on his/her efforts.

Ultimately, a thief will look for the easiest target to hit with the lowest risk of being caught. You may not be able to make your entire neighbourhood safer, but you can make your home much less attractive an opportunity.

Time

The more time a burglar feels he has to enter and go through your house, the more likely your home will be a target.

He needs time to pick a lock on one of your exterior doors. He needs time to jimmy a window.

Once he’s inside, he needs time to find and identify the goods he wants to steal, pack them up and leave your home with them.

Your best defense against a burglar is to not give him time to do his thing.

Value

What a criminal considers valuable depends, to a certain extent, on his motives.

If it is a drug addict or casual thief looking for a source of cash, it will be cash he can find or anything he thinks he can quickly convert into cash. This probably includes things like TVs, computers or jewelry he can pawn or sell.

If it’s a professional burglar, it could mean artwork, coin collections and jewelry. It could also include your car.

Risk

To a criminal, risk most often means the chance of being caught. Secondarily, it could mean the risk of getting hurt in the commission of a crime – for example, falling from a roof while trying to enter or exist a residence.

Visibility is one risk factor. The risk of being caught increases the more a criminal is likely to be seen or observed attempting to enter or leave your home. If he feels he can work unobserved for enough time to enter your home, your home is probably a target.

Noise is another risk factor. Noise draws attention from people who may not be able see the criminal working. The sound of breaking glass or a dog barking can alert neighbours to his actions.

The other risk factor is danger. Climbing up the outside of an apartment building poses a greater risk of falling than climbing in a ground floor or basement window. The average criminal doesn’t want to get hurt on the job.

Where Do We Go From Here?

So far, we’ve identified that your risk of being a target of crime is related to the criminal’s motives, the available means to commit a crime and the perceived opportunity your house or car or business represents.

We’ve also learned that Opportunity is the one aspect of a crime that we have the most power to control.

Future posts will discuss different types of crime and what you can do to prevent them.

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