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Citizen Participation in Neighborhood Crime Prevention
Author(s) -
LAVRAKAS PAUL J.,
HERZ ELICIA J.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1982.tb00473.x
Subject(s) - metropolitan area , looming , crime prevention , fear of crime , action (physics) , service (business) , telephone survey , public relations , criminology , political science , business , sociology , psychology , advertising , marketing , geography , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , cognitive psychology
The importance of citizen involvement in crime prevention was stressed throughut the 1970s and, with looming service cutbacks, grows in potential importance for the coming decades. While many programs have been developed to encourage the public to get involved, especially in community‐based crime prevention efforts, not much was known about the underlying motivational dynamics. On the basis of a random‐digit‐dial telephone survey of 1803 residents in an entire metropolitan area, we conclude that most citizens become involved in neighborhood anticrime activities not because of fear of crime, but rather as an extension of their general tendency for community‐based voluntary action.