CRIME PREVENTION:
The best crime prevention programs involve intelligent design of security in buildings and neighborhoods and the promotion of proactive relationships of individuals, families, neighbors and the police department in the community.

Intelligent Design & Security
Intelligent design with effective understanding of a building's surrounding environment and neighborhood can reduce crime, reduce fear and worry related to crime, and increase quality of life. Proper lighting, gating, fencing, key-locked or code access doors, video, intercom and other communication devices are excellent tools for preventing criminal acts.

Community, Family and Individual Crime Prevention Action
Crimes can also be prevented by increasing awareness -- educating the community on crime prevention techniques and by getting citizens involved in crime prevention activities such as neighborhood watch.

Primary prevention: Primary prevention address individual & family level factors correlated with later criminal participation. Individual level factors such as attachment to school, involvement in pro-social activities, etc.. decrease the probability of criminal involvement. Family level factors such as consistent parenting skills similarly reduce individual level risk. Risk factors are additive in nature. The greater the number of risk factors present the greater the risk of criminal involvement. In addition there are initiatives which seek to alter rates of crime at the community or aggregate level. For example, Larry Sherman from the University of Maryland in Policing Domestic Violence (1993) demonstrated that changing the policy of police response to domestic violence calls altered the probability of subsequent violence. Policing "hot spots, areas of known criminal activity, decreases the number of criminal events reported to the police in those areas.

Secondary Prevention: Secondary prevention refers to techniques focused on at risk situations such as youth who are dropping out of school or getting involved in gangs. It also refers to targeting social programs and law enforcement into neighborhoods where crime rates are high. Programs involve getting youths involved in proactive, community programs.

Tertiary prevention: Tertiary prevention is used after a crime has occurred in order to prevent successive incidents. Such measures can be seen in the implementation of new security policies following acts of terrorism, most notably the September 11, 2001 attacks.

An advisory panel of concerned residents and businesses is recommended to bring the needs of the community to the attention of police crime prevention specialists. Surveys that input the concerns of the community, help identify risks and evaluate both law enforcement services and police officers. Another tool that communities use is the Town Hall Meeting, during which residents can call-in, mail-in, and walk-in to express community concerns.

See also Arlingtoncards.com/safe for more security tips and helpful crime prevention resources.

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