Crime Prevention

On June 5, 2003, the Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) program celebrated its 1-year anniversary. VIPS now includes more than 500 registered programs, representing more than 22,000 volunteers in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Click here for the IACP news release.

The actions of community members are extremely important to preventing crime. Preventing crime involves not only making sure that our houses are secure and that we take precautions to be safe but also working with law enforcement agencies to look out for neighbors and other community members.

We believe that decreasing crime and making our communities safer involves a return to the value that we must all take responsibility for our families and our neighborhoods. At BJA we are committed to providing communities with the tools, information, and resources they need to help them join together and learn what to do and how to do it.

• Through the Citizen Corps, part of President Bush's USA Freedom Corps initiative, BJA will work to promote community involvement and volunteerism in areas that will make communities safer.

  • The goal of the Neighborhood Watch initiative is to double the number of programs in the United States. These programs are key in not only making our communities safer but also in helping people to learn how to prepare for possible terrorist attacks or other emergencies. Through the National Sheriffs' Association, we will provide the information and resources needed to increase involvement in these groups.

  • The Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) program seeks to recruit and train volunteers to aid law enforcement agencies in both furthering crime prevention and in freeing officers to spend more time on prevention and enforcement. Through the International Association of Chiefs of Police, we will provide information and resources to help law enforcement begin and sustain these volunteer programs.

  • Under Project ChildSafe, a component of Project Safe Neighborhoods, BJA will work to meet President Bush's goal of providing free gunlocks and gun safety information through state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide.

  • We will work to provide technical assistance in crime prevention standards for evaluating officer performance and inservice training protocols for command, supervisory, line staff, and civilian personnel.

  • BJA will continue to seek out public and private partners to plan, develop, and disseminate an array of public awareness and information strategies that help people understand more about crime prevention and learn how to make changes in their own communities.

  Other BJA Crime Prevention Initiatives

  • The National Association of Town Watch (NATW) supports National Night Out (NNO) at the national, state, and local levels by disseminating information and materials and providing technical assistance to federal and state agencies, local units of government, civic and neighborhood organizations, and residents. NNO helps strengthen comprehensive police-community partnerships and supports the development and enhancement of innovative local crime, violence, and drug prevention initiatives.

  • The National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign is a partnership among BJA, the National Crime Prevention Council, the Crime Prevention Coalition of America, and the Ad Council, Inc. The campaign encourages citizens to participate in crime prevention through a public service advertising campaign, provides technical assistance and training to citizen and law enforcement organizations throughout the nation, organizes demonstration programs, and produces publications and materials.

  • Under Project HomeSafe, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) will distribute approximately 3 million safe gun-storage kits to individuals who own guns. Each kit includes a cable-style gunlock and printed materials on how to store firearms safely and prevent school/youth violence. NSSF also is developing public service announcements to encourage responsible gun ownership.

  Related Publications

  Crime Prevention and Community Policing: A Vital Partnership ASCII

  This monograph examines ways in which community crime prevention and community policing are linked, both philosophically and operationally.

  National Night Out: A Community-Police Partnership Program PDF or ASCII

  This fact sheet provides an overview of National Night Out, a program dedicated to community-building and crime watch activities.

  To search for more BJA publications, visit our Publications database.

  Related Web Sites

  Partnerships Against Violence Network (PAVNET)

  School Violence Resource Center

  For more links, search our Related Web Sites database.

  Training

  For detailed information on other BJA-sponsored training and technical assistance initiatives, search our Training and Technical Assistance database.