Short Paper: Article Review
Alissa D’Agostino
Liberty University
Delinquency and Crime Prevention
Professor Tiffany Roberson
February 6, 2022
Short Paper: Article Review 2
Article Title: Theory and Research Behind Neighborhood Watch - Is It a Sound Fear and Crime
Reduction Strategy?
Article Description
Our textbook defines neighborhood watch as “neighborhood watch directly seeks to bring
neighbors and residents of an area together as a means of enhancing knowledge of one another
and their ability to recognize who belongs and who does not in the area” (Lab, 2019, P. 91). This
article takes a critical look at the method behind neighborhood watch programs and provides the
reader with research related to this highly touted community crime prevention strategy known as
neighborhood watch. There are numerous correlational studies of neighborhoods and citizen
participations within the neighborhood watch programs. There is a paucity of rigorous
experimental evaluations stated within this article that test the proposed 'Implant Hypothesis,'
that is, that make it more ideal for collective citizen participation and how this method can be
implanted into more neighborhoods where it does not currently exist. However, this article states
both theoretical and empirical reasons to challenge some of the basic assumptions underlying the
Neighborhood Watch approach to reducing crime, reducing fear of crime, and restoring a sense
of community.
What hypothesis is this article testing?
There can be many different hypotheses created when it comes to crime prevention, especially
neighborhood and block watches. Neighborhood crime prevention is a common method that is
often used today when using techniques to lessen the amount of crime in an area. This article has
a hypothesis that is testing how watching programs increases fear of crime. It is also examining
the other effects of the neighborhood watch groups. The implication of this hypothesis is further
explored for theory development later in the article.
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Major Findings
There were three major findings within this article that stood out to me. One finding is
neighborhood watch can be easily implemented on a large scale to provide citizens with an
opportunity for participation in crime prevention activities. The second finding is if given the
opportunity to participate in neighborhood watch most citizens would find the program appealing
and would become involved regardless of social, demographic, or neighborhood characteristics.
Lastly, in neighborhood watch meetings the assumption is made that an interaction and
discussion is had regarding immediate effects. These effects include reaching a consensus about
problem definition, reducing fear of crime, increasing group cohesion, and increasing
participation in both individual and collective crime prevention actions after the meeting. Field
work regarding this finding suggests that communities meet more often to discuss their local
crime problems within their area and then form solutions versus forming solutions first and not
seeing a change.
Was the hypothesis correct, incorrect, or inconclusive?
The hypothesis that is being tested in this article is whether neighborhood watch programs
increase fear of crime. It is also examining the other effects of the neighborhood watch groups.
The hypothesis was correct. Rosenbaum states, “Going beyond the correlational neighborhood
research, we find a paucity of good quasi-experimental evaluations that directly test the central
Implant Hypothesis, that is, that citizen participation, and eventually informal social control
mechanisms, can be “implanted” in neighborhoods where they do not currently exist”
(Rosenbaum, 2016, P. 25). In conclusion, with this article and hypothesis more precise and
controlled research is needed to test a new hypothesis. To move forward with a more advanced
method of neighborhood watch we would need to examine this method under various conditions
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which include individual and neighborhood characteristics. More work needs to be done for this
method to lessen the severity of crimes within a community.
References
Lab, S. P. (2019). Crime Prevention (10th ed.). Taylor & Francis.
https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com
ROSENBAUM, D. P. (2016). The Theory and Research Behind Neighborhood Watch: Is it a
Sound Fear and Crime Reduction Strategy? , (1), 103–134. Crime & Delinquency 33
https://doi.org
