Neighborhood Watch is one of the oldest and most effective crime prevention programs in the country, bringing together the combined resources of citizens, communities, and police to deter crime and make communities and their residents safer (National Crime Prevention Council, 2009). Sponsored by the National Sheriffs' Association and local law enforcement departments across the country, Neighborhood Watch (NW) efforts have been in place since the 1960s; they are widely recognized as a cost-effective and efficient strategy for reducing crime, creating positive relationships between the public and law enforcement, and sending a message to would-be offenders that crime will not be tolerated (Bennett, Holloway, & Farrington, 2006). However, such programs are not without their costs and must be evaluated to determine if resources are being expended wisely.
Evaluating a NW program must be an ongoing set of activities undertaken by the local law enforcement agency, its designated program director, and members of the community advisory group sponsoring the effort (National Crime Prevention Council, 2008). There are several research strategies that should be used to evaluate these programs. First, one must track all complaints received by district along with resolutions (e.g., arrests, case closures) and then compare these data to similar data before the period before the NW effort was introduced. One should also track the changes in reports/ resolutions over time as the program develops (National Crime Prevention Council, 2008). One should also examine differences in reports based on such data as actual arrests, suspicious or deviant behavior, and seasonal variations in reported incident and locations for incident (to identify "hot spots" where additionally patrols might be of value).
These data, coupled with interviews and community surveys, will help police to determine if the NW effort is succeeding. Regular community survey...