Research Proposal
Neighborhood Watch Proposal 1
Unit 8 draft proposal: Neighborhood Watch Programs
Student Name
University
CJ 490 Research Methods in Criminal Justice
Professor
Date
Neighborhood Watch Proposal 2
Neighborhood Watch Programs
The term “home,” can have several meanings to many different people. But most
people associate this word with their place of residence or where they seek refuge. Of all places,
a person’s home should not be a place they fear falling victim to crime, but instead, as a place
where they feel safe and secure. When a person comes home after a long day of work to discover
their home has been broken into and all of their prized possessions have been stolen, it is normal
to feel angry, and violated because that’s what it is, a violation. For the most part, burglaries are
a crime of opportunity. A burglar can sit and watch someone’s house all day and know exactly
what time they go to work and return home. According to the Texas Crime Statistics and Rates
Report, in 2009 there were 240,233 burglary incidents and a total of 995,145 property crime
incidents in Texas (“Texas Crime Statistics,” n.d.). Reports from 2012 are already showing an
increase in these numbers compared to 2009 (“Texas crime statistics,” n.d.). This is alarming and
neighborhood watch could be the solution. In 1972, the National Sheriffs’ Association founded
the Neighborhood Watch Program with the intentions of helping police reduce crimes in
neighborhoods (Campbell, n.d.). While the main focuses of Neighborhood Watch programs are
to prevent crime, they may also educate and strengthen the community.
Review of Literature:
Almost 2 years ago, residents of Salisbury, New Hampshire lost their police department
when their 2-man force suddenly resigned. Since then, they have been unable to fill the empty
positions, so the state police have been providing coverage for the community. Members of the
Salisbury community are now looking to create a neighborhood watch program, not to replace
law enforcement, but to enhance the coverage already being supplied by the state (McCrystal,
Neighborhood Watch Proposal 3
2012). The idea of a neighborhood watch program in this community already exists, it’s just not
formalized. Many residents already watch for suspicious people or behavior so formalizing the
program will simply give them someone to call when suspicious behavior or activity does take
place. Members of the Salisbury community have great reason to push for the implementation of
Neighborhood Watch programs. Not only is it believed to reduce crime, but it is also thought to
bring the community together as well.
According to the St. Petersburg, FL police department, Neighborhood Crime Watch is
one of the most effective and least costly ways to prevent crime and reduce fear (Uniform
Services Bureau, n.d.). They strongly feel that their neighborhood watch program reduces crime
and brings the department and the members of the community together. They accomplish this by
holding meetings, assigning members to monitor the neighborhood (citizens’ patrol), having
Regular discussions between the neighbors, Crime Prevention Officers and Community Police
Officers, and by holding special events to inform the public about the program and its purpose.
Burglary and vandalism are two of the main crimes that haunt all members of every
community and neighborhood watch programs help deter this type of behavior. While these
programs have many names, Crime Watch, Block Watch, or Community Watch, its success
comes from the commitment of the police department and the members of the community to
come together and fight crime. Thousands of neighborhood watch programs exist across the U.S.
because it is thought to be one of the most effective ways members of communities can reduce
crime in their neighborhoods. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community
Policing Services led a meta-analysis of studies on neighborhood watch programs and
Neighborhood Watch Proposal 4
determined that neighborhoods with watch programs had 16 percent less crime in comparison to
neighborhoods without watch programs (Holloway, Bennett, & Farrington, 2008). Burglary is
one of the most widespread crimes committed and it makes up more than one third of the index
crimes in the United States (Uniform Crime Reports, 2013). Not only are people’s residences
threatened when this crime is committed, but some even lose their life by inadvertently walking
in on an unsuspecting burglar. Neighborhood watch programs are designed to spot suspicious
behavior; thus it is successful in preventing this type of crime. In addition, Neighborhood Watch
signs and decals provided to the program from law enforcement allows them to display their
existence which deters criminals from their neighborhood.
Problem statement and theoretical assumption:
Problem Statement: Neighborhoods without watch groups may have high crime rates.
Theory: Neighborhood watch groups should decrease crime in general and burglary specifically.
Variables and Hypothesis:
The independent variable is watch program.
The dependent variable is average burglary rate.
The hypothesis is “Neighborhoods with watch programs are less likely to have burglaries than
neighborhoods without watch programs.”
Neighborhood Watch Proposal 5
References
Campbell, M. (n.d.). Purpose of neighborhood watch. Retrieved on 3/15/2012 from eHow.com:
http://www.ehow.com/about_6636238_purpose-neighborhood-watch.html
Holloway, K., Bennett, T., & Farrington, D. P. (2008). Crime prevention review no. 3: Does
neighborhood watch reduce crime? Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice Office
of Community Oriented Policing Services.
McCrystal, L. (2012, June 25). Neighborhood watch proposed. Retrieved on 4/16/2012 from
Concord Monitor: http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/337992/neighborhood-watch-
proposed?page=full&CSAuthResp=1341018374%3Acd4c4cn9fmroicvcin9hq3ojh7%3A
CSUserId%7CCSGroupId%3Aapproved%3A9282640E70C8319E9482AD65A56C2542
&CSUserId=94&CSGroupId=1
Uniform Services Bureau. (n.d.). Neighborhood crime watch. Retrieved on 3/15/2013 from St.
Petersburg Police Department: http://www.stpete.org/police/crime-prev/crime-watch.html
---------. (n.d.). Neighborhood watch program. Retrieved on 4/16/2012 from Directory M
Articles: http://articles.directorym.com/Neighborhood_Watch_Program-a571.html
---------- . (n.d.). Texas crime statistics and rates report (TX). Retrieved on 3/15/2012 from
CityRating.com: http://www.cityrating.com/crime-statistics/texas/