Case Studies with Questions and Answers
Chapter 05: Neighborhood Crime Prevention
Jessica Taylor, a nurse in a mid-sized southeast city, works 10 hours shifts Monday-Thursday and sometimes more, but spends Friday-Sunday catching up with her family. Her husband, a professor at a nearby university, spends most of his day at the office Monday-Friday. The neighborhood the couple resides in, Seagate Village, is an average middle class neighborhood. The couple lives in a rather nice, 3 bedroom, two story house, and the neighborhood is similar in size and appearance.
Starting this past summer the neighbors have been noticing small items have been missing from vehicles and garages. These items include rakes, leaf blowers, weed eaters, and other lawn maintenance, and home improvement tools. Beginning this December, Mr. Bella, a neighbor from 4 doors down, had his vehicle broken into and several items stolen. A fellow neighbor, Mrs. Faulkner, witnessed the act and called the police with the description of 3 teenage boys, 2 white, 1 black, running from the scene.
Mrs. Taylor has spent the last 3 months gathering signed petitions for the start of a neighborhood crime watch community in hopes of having the community watch program sponsored by the state. Of the 34 houses in the neighborhood, she has gained support from 27 of these houses, all whom reported they will actively participate. With no businesses in the community, Mrs. Taylor is limited to gaining the signatures of residents only to get a better understand of the desire of the community to participate.