Prevention Works

Making a Difference

Youth violence in the United States is something that cannot be ignored.  From gang violence to school shootings to bullying in schools, there is no wonder youth violence is such a hot topic. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) conducted a survey on youth violence in 2011 and found that 5 percent of high school students had brought a weapon to school in the 30 days prior to the survey. In the same survey it was found that 33 percent of high school students had been in a physical fight in the 12 months before the survey. In the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment, the FBI states that juvenile gangs are increasing and that gangs target youth because of their vulnerability and susceptibility to recruitment tactics. Even though the problem is apparent, not everyone knows what he or she can do to help stop the violence. One way that everyone can help out and make a difference is by becoming involved through community service and volunteering.

A few months ago, President Obama called for a National Day of Service. In response, thousands of Americans helped out and volunteered in their communities. Community service has become an important part of our country. Many people are aware of national volunteering opportunities such as the American Red Cross, Neighborhood Watch, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the United Way. In these programs, you can be active in your community and mentor at-risk youth to guide them in a positive way. Even though these national agencies receive the most publicity, there are many other ways to volunteer and become involved in your community, to make a contribution to the community’s school, your city, and your country.

Getting involved can be easy. When I was younger, I volunteered with my local animal shelter. I love animals so this was the perfect opportunity for me; I had fun and I was helping out. There are so many different volunteer opportunities available; the hard part is knowing where to look for them. A great place to start is the United We Serve website, serve.gov. This website can help you find existing volunteer opportunities in your area and help you learn how to start your own service project. Other good places to look are your local school, library, hospital, retirement home, church, or food bank. So get up and get involved.  You can start making a difference in your community today.

For more information on volunteering, visit NCPC’s website at ncpc.org/topics/volunteering.

Lucky ‘13

Happy New Year’s! Let’s make a wager to make 2013 a safe year, double or nothing!

Stakes were high in 2012 and odds are 2013 will follow suit. Before the confetti could settle the race was on—the political race, that is. We started 2012 naming Mitt Romney as the new Republican candidate to run against President Obama. Throughout the next 12 months we were tested—tested by our faith, our government, our country, and ourselves.  We experienced tragedies in Aurora, CO, and Newtown, CT. We witnessed politics from Obama’s re-election to CIA scandals and a fiscal cliff. We united over victories and outstanding feats from our USA Olympic teams, cried together over the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, and treated ourselves to iPhone 5s and Kindle Fires.

With everything we can’t control, let’s take a chance and make a 2013 resolution we can manage—personal safety.  

Practice fire drills and emergency routes at home, work, and school.  Where’s the nearest exit (from your desk, the bathroom, the cafeteria, etc.)? Where do you meet outside? Make sure your kids know what to do if they’re separated from their class in an emergency. In a natural disaster, know where you’ll be relocated, or which family members or friends have room for you.

Get involved in your or your child’s school. Make sure your contact information is up-to-date including cell and work numbers, emergency contacts, and addresses.  Know the teachers, principals, and staff. In case of an emergency, the more you know and pre-plan the better. 

Join Neighborhood Watch. Know the people in your community, their cars, and their pets. A simple knock at the door a line such as “I’m locked out of my house,” “I think I hit your neighbor’s cat,” or “My car won’t start” can be fatal. Knowing who and what is around can keep you and your family safe.  If you don’t have a Neighborhood Watch, start one!

What you type can and will be held against you. Use the internet and technology responsibly.  We use the internet for everything now—dating, school, shopping, listening to music, getting the news, and keeping in touch with friends and family. Whether it’s your latest gossip, credit card number, or profile saying you enjoy long, romantic walks on the beach, once it’s there, it’s there.

Odds are stacked against us that 2013 will be hardship-free. Let’s do our part and make a resolution to be the solution.

To learn more about personal safety, Neighborhood Watch, and how you can get involved in your community, visit www.ncpc.org, www.mcgruff.org, and www.celebratesafecommuntities.org.

Lock Crime Out Of Your Home!!!

October is Crime Prevention Month, and a very important topic for all of us here at NCPC is neighborhood and home safety.  Did you know that burglaries can happen during the daytime or even while you are home?  Burglary is the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft.  A person can be convicted of burglary even if nothing is actually stolen.  According to the Burglary Statistics on the Discovery Channel™ website, a burglary occurs approximately every 15 seconds in the United States.  Nearly 66 percent of all burglaries are residential, and of those, 62 percent occur during the daytime.  Most burglaries occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., when no one is likely to be at home.  About 30 percent of all burglaries are classified as "unlawful entry," meaning the burglar was able to gain entry without using force — often through an unlocked door or window.  Scary statistics, however, most burglaries are preventable. 

Being burglarized is a very real threat to you and your family, especially if you live in one of the larger metropolitan areas.  In the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "Crime in the United States" Report in 2010, victims of burglary offenses suffered a collective estimated loss of $4.6 billion in property in 2010; overall, the average dollar loss per burglary offense was $2,119.

In Burglary of Single-Family Houses, a publication produced by the Community Oriented Policing Services Office of the U.S. Department of Justice, it was shown that burglars select targets based on a number of key factors, including the following:

• Familiarity with the target and convenience of the location
• Occupancy
• Visibility or surveillability
• Accessibility
• Vulnerability or security
• Potential rewards.

Below are some helpful crime and burglary prevention steps you can take to help combat crime and make a difference in your community.  

• Use common sense—don’t be an easy target.
• Install quality locks on doors and windows and use them.  Lock and close your doors and windows even when you're home.  Do not rely on thumb-turn locks on windows, as they can be unlocked through a broken window.
• Install deadbolt locks and peepholes on exterior doors and any interior door between the garage and house.  Do not leave your garage door open or unlocked if you are not in the immediate area. 
• Pay attention to suspicious activity or anything that appears out of place.  Immediately report any and all suspicious activity by calling your local 24-hour non-emergency number or 911 in the event of an emergency.
• If you have an alarm, set it!  
• Lighting is one of the best deterrents to nightime burglary—indoor and outdoor lighting are important.  Install lights by all exterior doors and make bulbs hard to reach.
• Beware of solicitors.  Door-to-door salespeople have a business license or permit issued by the City, so always ask to see it for verification.
• Don't let strangers into your home—this includes workers and other—if you are not with them.  Never give keys to people making improvements to your home.
• If you are going to be out of town have family, friends, or neighbors check on your home.  Do not hide spare house keys outside your home but leave them with a trusted neighbor instead.
• Photograph your valuables and engrave your property with a form of identification, such as your driver's license number.
• Have locks changed or re-keyed when moving into a new home or apartment.
• Install track-type locks, drop bars, wooden dowels, or pinning devices on sliding glass doors.
• Trim shrubs around doors and windows so burglars don't have a sheltered place to work.
• Store ladders in the garage or padlock them to fixed objects so burglars can't use them to reach upper floor windows.

Please visit www.ncpc.org  as well as www.celebratesafecommunities.org for additional resources and useful tips on preventing crimes against your home and community.

Engaging with Law Enforcement through Citizen Police Academies

A central theme of Celebrate Safe Communities is to encourage local people to work together with local law enforcement to address local problems. An important step in that process is to learn more about the day to day work of your law enforcement agency. One way to gain a better understanding of your law enforcement agency and build relationships with local officers is to attend a Citizen Police Academy.

Citizen Academies are offered by both police departments and sheriff’s offices. They range in length from a week to several months and cover the entire spectrum of law enforcement work. Themes and topics vary by agency, but many courses feature hands-on activities like trying on SWAT gear, meeting dogs from K-9 units, dusting for fingerprints, and much more. Aside from learning the ins and outs of this exciting field, participants also learn important lessons about how to keep their families safe through simple crime prevention strategies.

Some law enforcement agencies offer citizen academies targeted to specific community groups. There are Teen Police Academies and Senior Police Academies that are tailored to each age group’s interests and concerns. There are also Citizen Academies for Hispanic, Hmong, and other immigrant groups that offer language interpretation and culturally specific public safety information.

Above all, Citizen Academies teach participants about public safety issues in their communities, what law enforcement is doing to solve those issues, and how community members can help. There are many ways to continue supporting your police department or sheriff’s office after completing a Citizen Academy course. Ongoing volunteer activities may include Neighborhood Watch, Citizen Police Academy Alumni Associations, and Volunteers in Police Service Programs.

You can learn more about Citizen Police Academies and other law enforcement volunteer opportunities on the Volunteers in Police Service website – www.policevolunteers.org.

Gang Intervention and Prevention 101 for Police

I have been fortunate to conduct gang training throughout the United States on a continuous basis since 1992. This includes a Basic Gangs course and an Advanced Gang Investigations course. But I seem to fool quite a few people when throughout the course of the training, which lasts anywhere from two to five days, I talk about what you can do to help gang members who are calling out for help.

Law enforcement has the unique ability to gauge human beings in a nanosecond. This special skill works in many phases for police officers, deputy sheriffs, state police, correctional officers, and all facets of the criminal justice spectrum. But this skill set is not always put to use, because, “Why would we want to help gang members?” Gang members are the scourge of society; they hate police. That is often true, but there are many who join gangs who desperately want out, and the one person they see more than anyone other than their own gang members, is a police officer.

Why do I feel passionately about helping? It is our job! Growing up in Chicago, Illinois, in the late 1950s to middle 1960s was no picnic. I grew up with and around gang members. Many were my friends, and many were my enemies. I grew up disliking police. In fact when the Chicago Police Department officers decided to run us off street corners, they would deposit me at home and smile when they delivered me to my father; a fate worse than death!

In 1963 I got into a fight with James Alexander, who was a Blackstone Ranger. I knew James well, and because of my reputation for fighting, he decided to pull out a knife. I took the knife from him and tried to stab him and missed, the knife sticking in the ground. When the neighbors pulled me off him, the police came to my house. Two Chicago Police youth officers, Jackie Thomas and Charles Inge challenged me to come to the Hyde Park YMCA. I didn’t know why until my father took me, and I saw they were black belts in Judo. My life changed. Several things were learned from meeting them. They made me a better Judo player and person; secondly, I learned police officers are really human beings. Thirdly, I majored in Police Science (Criminal Justice today), and began my law enforcement career in 1969, because I wanted to be like them; I wanted to give back.

Throughout my career I have tried to give back. I have taken gang members into my Judo clubs in Chicago (IL) and Prince George’s County (MD). I have coached kids who joined my baseball teams, and told them, “It’s either the bandanna or the baseball.” Most chose the baseball. I have and still mentor former gang members. But this is not about me. It’s about them.

Criminal justice professionals have an obligation to serve and protect, which includes reaching out if the opportunity presents itself. Most gang members lack “life skills,” which need to be given to them. Leadership skills are something that criminal justice professionals possess, but going that extra mile and turning those qualities into a positive outcome for a gang member or at-risk youth is awesome!

When we talk about gang prevention, the first topic is violence. I have always felt strongly about community oriented policing and exercising community building. The community needs to see police officers outside their cruisers; they need to see police officers talk and feel comfortable within their own environment. Police explorer programs are a great conduit to show the youth of America how police departments work and how police officers tick. In the 1990s, I helped launch the police explorer program in Prince George’s County (MD) with Captain W. Grady Baker. Because of the dedication of numerous officers, many youth who would have joined gangs, gone to jail, or been killed are now police officers.

There are so many ways we can help. Many criminal justice professionals were and remain athletes. Take your skills and teach or coach. Many are parents; take your skills as a parent and show you care.

This is not about saving the world, but William Bratton, former Chief LAPD said, “You can’t always arrest your way out of a gang!”

Tony Avendorph retired in 2009 after 40 years in law enforcement, serving with the Illinois Department of Corrections, Los Angeles (CA) County Sheriff's Department, and Prince George's County Police Department (MD). Tony is the President of Tony Avendorph Associates, LLC.

Tony Avendorph, President

Celebrate Safe Communities is Crime Prevention Done the Right Way

Celebrate Safe Communities is crime prevention done the right way—local people working with local law enforcement to address local issues. CSC spotlights communities’ crime prevention efforts, enhances public awareness of vital crime prevention and safety messages, and recruits year-round support for ongoing prevention activities that help keep neighborhoods safe from crime and prepared for any emergency.

To further explain the importance and relevance of CSC, NCPC’s President and CEO, Ann Harkins, discussed the initiative with Rebecca Rose, Senior Policy Advisor for Strategic Initiatives with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, in a podcast. Click here to read the transcript from that exciting conversation.

2012 Themes for Crime Prevention Month in October

Week One:  Community Engagement (October 1-6)

• Engaging the public through academies, training, and outreach
• Engaging targeted stakeholders - youth, seniors, businesses

Week Two:  Neighborhood and Home Safety (October 7-13)

• Property Crime
• Car Theft – focusing on electronics
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)

Week Three:  Personal Safety (October 14-20)

• Stranger Danger
• Bullying Prevention
• Theft Prevention

Week Four:  Cyber Safety (October 21-31)

• Safe Online Surfing and Social Networking
• ID Theft Prevention
• Cyberbullying Prevention

 A CSC event can be anything large or small, such as an anti-drug march, a community safety fair, or a neighborhood clean-up. When you register your event, you will have access to free downloadable crime prevention resources, training programs, and other incentives. The first 500 sites to register will also receive a starter kit of resources, such as Neighborhood Watch manuals and safety-themed comic books. For more information, contact Kristen Adamowicz at 202-261-4156 or kadamowicz@ncpc.org.

 Register your public safety event at www.celebratesafecommunities.org and join hundreds of other neighborhoods across the country working together to create safe communities.

Elder Abuse at its Peak in Communities across the United States

Even though National Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15^th, has passed, there is no need to put prevailing trends on the back burner. It takes knowledge and a good heart to help prevent crime of this nature. Elder abuse has been on the rise in many communities. In local communities across the country, Federal government agencies are teaming up with law enforcement and nonprofits to combat this growing trend. Just last year, the Federal government passed the Elder Justice Act that coordinates federal elder abuse detection and prevention programs within the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Unfortunately, it is estimated that millions of U.S. elders, from all walks of life, face abuse and neglect every year. Anyone can be victimized. However, there are things you can do to help protect yourself from abuse and neglect. “Family members are typically the abusers and are often the adult children or spouse of the victim”, said Mary Twomey, co-director of the National Center of Elder Abuse. There are many things that one can consider to assist in the prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

State legislatures in all 50 states have passed some form of legislation in regards to elder abuse and adult protective services. Passed legislation that authorizes the state to protect and provide services to vulnerable, incapacitated, or disabled adults. In more than three-quarters of the states, the services are provided through the state social service department known as a Adult Protective Services. In the remaining states, the State Units on Aging have the major responsibility.  Many signs can predict that elder abuse is taking place.

Some elder abuse signs to consider are:

• Lack of basic hygiene, adequate food, or clean and appropriate clothing
•  Lack of medical aids (glasses, walker, teeth, hearing aid, and medications)
• Person with dementia left unsupervised
• Person confined to bed is left without care
• Unexplained or uncharacteristic changes in behavior, such as withdrawal from normal activities, unexplained changes in alertness, other
•  Home without adequate facilities (stove, refrigerator, heat, cooling, working plumbing, and electricity)

Some of the organizations, programs, and agencies that pursue prevention tactics are well known throughout the United States. Here are a few organizations that provide resourceful information:

• The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) serves as a national resource center anything related to elder abuse, and additional prevention tips can be found via the NCEA.                                      
• The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program advocates for residents of nursing homes, board and care homes, assisted living facilities and similar adult care facilities. The Ombudsman Program is established in all states under the Older Americans Act, which is administered by the Administration on Aging, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                                                                                                                       
• The Alzheimer's Association is a great source to connect with local chapters and community resources.
• The Foundation Aiding the Elderly (F.A.T.E.) a California non-profit organization seeks to serve as a voice for patients, bring about national reforms, and enforce the laws governing the nursing home industry and its regulatory agencies in order to assure proper care for the elderly in long-term care facilities.
• The National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) exists to support family caregivers and to speak out publicly for caregivers' needs.
• The National Organization For Empowering Caregivers (NOFEC) is a non-profit New York-based organization whose stated mission is to provide assistance, education, support, and referrals for informal family caregivers, as well to promote public awareness about the realities of care giving.

The fact remains that when insufficient resources are provided, corners are cut and elders suffer. The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) encourages agencies, organizations, and individuals across the world to recognize this underreported issue and raise awareness about the mistreatment of seniors. Let this be a renewal of a life-long commitment to ending elder abuse in the United States. For further information and prevention tips on this crime please contact the NCPC@ncpc.org.

A Big Problem in Small Towns

Over the last decade, we have seen a large increase in population in America’s suburban communities. Unfortunately, in the Northern Virginia area and its surrounding communities, the massive growth in population also brings some negative baggage, including gang members and their beliefs. Gang membership has been on the rise, largely due to the presence of MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha). This is by far the largest gang in the area, with an estimated three thousand active members in northern Virginia alone. Despite this increase in gang activity, law enforcement has done a good job educating the community and cracking down on gangs.  And it has effectively reduced gang violence in the area. To continue to seek justice and reduce crime in our communities, strong ties between police and members of the community are of the utmost importance. In order to keep this gang epidemic from spreading further into our communities and schools, we must employ three types of prevention techniques.

• Primary Prevention: Focuses on the entire population at risk and the identification of those conditions (personal, social, environmental) that promote criminal behavior. This type of prevention could include afterschool programs, Neighborhood Watch, or any other range of activities that offer alternatives/deter would-be gang members.

• Secondary Prevention: Targets those who have been identified as being at greater risk to becoming delinquent. Giving our at-risk youth activities or jobs that occupy their time will decrease the likelihood of engaging in delinquent behavior.

• Tertiary Prevention: Targets those who are already involved in criminal activity or who are gang members. Providing gang members with work programs that offer a legal and productive alternative from delinquent activities may be helpful. Also, therapy can sometimes prove useful as a way to get to the root of why he or she became a gang member and how he or she can move past his or her former lives. (Wilson, 2000)                

Thanks to relentless help and tips from residents in the Northern Virginia area, a leader of the MS-13 gang has been recently sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.  Northern Virginia has done a great job of dealing with this trending issue and can serve as a good model for suburban and even rural areas all over the country. There is nowhere in America that is still completely untouched by gangs or gang ideology. However, by having communities and local residents use the prevention techniques previously stated, as well as cooperating with local and area law enforcement, we can drastically reduce crime due to gang- related activity.

Author: Hamel, Parker (NCPC Intern).

The Impact of Declining Law Enforcement Resources

Public safety officers and police departments play a critical role in crime prevention. Law enforcement agencies are frequently the focal point; officers have first-hand knowledge of crime, its origins, and the community in which they serve. When citizens work with law enforcement, an even stronger force is created to promote public safety in local communities.

An estimated 40 percent of potential criminal activity is prevented because of reported tips from the community. Clearly, police departments have the expertise to stop crime before it happens. Departments also have the unique ability to unite community members, public safety organizations, and government officials together. However, recent and serious budget cuts and personnel reductions have threatened this mutually beneficial relationship between law enforcement and communities.

In 2011, police departments across the nation continued laying off critical personnel such as police officers, and implemented hiring freezes due to shrinking budgets. At least four major cities cut 10 percent of their forces. (Governing.com) President Barack Obama acknowledges the lack of public safety funding, allocating more funding for state and local law enforcement hiring in his 2013 budget proposal. Federal financial support is necessary for law enforcement agencies to continue working to prevent crime.

The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) recognizes the crucial role law enforcement officers and professionals play in preventing crime. As a result, we proudly offer a national resource to enhance and promote crime prevention and professional development of crime prevention practitioners. The National Crime Prevention Association (NCPA) is an individual membership association for the crime prevention practitioner. The association offers training, resources, conference opportunities, information-sharing outlets, and other benefits for the practitioner.

This professional association allows people in the public, private, and community sectors to learn and share information about best practices in the discipline of crime prevention.  NCPA plans to offer various resources that are not currently available through state-level associations. Some resources include regional information sharing, a national networking system, and access to a national database of proven crime prevention trainers.

We acknowledge the significance of crime prevention practitioners’ expertise.  That’s why the NCPA and NCPC, in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice, have developed a certification program to recognize outstanding achievement in the field of crime prevention.

Through this national certification program, crime prevention practitioners will finally be able to obtain recognition for the expertise that they have developed through years of education, training, experience, and countless hours devoted to their communities. We know that proven crime prevention techniques and practices work to keep communities safer. Now it’s time to recognize the field of crime prevention, and its expert practitioners, as crime prevention specialists. This national certification will do that by setting minimum standards for basic and advanced expertise and recognizing those who have done the work to meet them.

The dedication and support of organizations, communities, government, and people such as you are necessary to continue to prevent crime and its impact on our lives. Since the NCPA’s certification program began last year, over 40 people have been certified. To learn more about how you can apply for certification or to join the National Crime Prevention Association, visit http://www.ncpc.org

Impact of Gang Violence on Businesses and Communities

Many people across the United States understand gang violence or have been victimized by gang violence and activity in their neighborhoods and communities, but what is the effect on gangs and gang violence on business owners?

Gang violence is a critical social and economic issue and it extracts a high toll on the general public, as well as the business community. For example, in the city of Los Angeles alone, there are over 400 gangs with more than 39,000 members, according to the Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles.  Imagine the effects that gang activity and violence has on the businesses where the gangs reside, and the impact it has on both potential investors and customers that patronize these businesses.  Small businesses lose customers, which results in the loss of revenue, loss of funds due to theft, graffiti clean-up, and business restoration. If a gang decides to claim a territory as its own, this often puts fear into current and potential customers and prevents them from patronizing the business.

In addition to all the other negative effects of youth joining gangs, young people who become gang members are an economic burden to society. The cost of incarcerating gang members actually exceeds annual expenses at top private universities, which can total about $60,000 per student for tuition, room, and board. A modern estimate is that nearly 600,000 adult inmates arrive on the doorsteps of communities throughout the country each year (Petersilia, 2003, p. 3). More people are leaving prison today than at any other time in history, and many lack preparation for life on the outside, according to Petersilia’s study. Communities and businesses must redirect their resources to provide training for youth, so that gang members move from being institutionalized criminals of society, to college graduates and taxpayers of which we can be proud.  A great example of this is Homeboy Industries. Homeboy Industries assists at-risk and former gang-involved youth to become positive and contributing members of society through job placement, training, and education (http://homeboy-industries.org). Gang-involved youth can transform from damaging the businesses in their neighborhoods, to one day perhaps owning one.  

Another often overlooked cost of gang violence is the medical and financial consequences. The total volume of crime is estimated to cost Americans $655 billion each year (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2004), and it is reasonable to assume that gangs are responsible for a substantial proportion. Gangs in the United States have long had a significant economic crime impact (Bureau of Justice Assistance, 1997; Valdez, 2000).

As is apparent in these statistics, gangs are a very dangerous and expensive problem to businesses and communities.  There are strategies that can be undertaken to address this issue. One is for the businesses to unite and create a business crime watch.  With businesses looking out for each other and reporting suspicious activity, they can let gang members know that their activity is unacceptable to the community.  Couple business crime watch with involvement by all sectors of law enforcement; city, county, and state government; and community members working cohesively to develop strategies and short- and long-term goals to address gang violence, and that can help the community become a healthier place to live, work, and conduct business.  For additional information on gang strategies, fact sheets, bulletins, and webinars, please visit NCPC’s gang prevention pages under resources or clickhere.