Neighborhood Watch Research Study

Essay by lovelyrissaUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, January 2008

download word file, 5 pages 0.0

Neighborhood Watch Research StudyNeighborhood watch is an organization that was created to teach people how to protect themselves from crime and how to work in conjunction with the police department. The goal of the program is crime prevention through the community involvement,” neighbor helping neighbor”. The program provides people the opportunity to meet their neighbors and their police department. (Fountain Valley police department, n.d.)The town mayor has asked to determine if a neighborhood watch program is having any effect on the volume of complaints received about suspicious behavior, deviant behavior, and crime. A research study and theories has been designed to support the neighborhood watch program and explain how each theory supports this program. From the theories a hypothesis will be developed then the concepts will be operationalized.

The Quasi-experiments were chosen as one of the research designs, which generally fall into three classes. In the first class, the study compares an “experimental” group with a control or comparison group, but the subjects of the study are not randomly assigned to the categories.

In the second class of quasi-experiments, a long series of observations is made before the treatment, and another long series of observations is made after the treatment. The third class of quasi-experiments combines the use of a control group with time-series data. This latter approach is generally seen to provide the strongest conclusions in quasi-experiment research. When using this design the effect on the volume of complaints about suspicious behavior, deviant behavior, and crime has increased.

The neighborhood watch programs seem to be supported by many of the concepts centered on the community policing theory. When it comes to the community policing theory the results are that crime is reduced and deterred. With this theory police officers are to be visible and easily accessible. (Henig & Maxfield,