Drafter
Clerk 07/15/2022
Title
A MOTION declaring a policy of the council to establish a neighborhood engagement pilot program led by the department of public safety, and requesting a briefing by the sheriff to discuss implementation of the program.
Body
WHEREAS, neighborhood engagement programs (such as neighborhood watch programs) have proven to be effective in reducing crime, with one of the earliest evaluations which showed that neighborhood crime was reduced in Seattle in 1977, and
WHEREAS, reductions were associated with some of the essential features of the neighborhood engagement programs, and might serve to increase community awareness, reduce opportunities, and enhance informal social control, and
WHEREAS, according to a study done by?The Crime Prevention Research Review,?most areas associated with a neighborhood watch pointed to lower levels of crime, and
WHEREAS, visible community presence might reduce crime?because of its deterrent effect on the perceptions and decision-making of potential offenders. Offenders might notice the spike in community presence and, in turn, decide not to strike or possibly target a different area, and
WHEREAS, a meta-analysis by professors Trevor Bennett, Katy Holloway and David Farrington published in The Campbell Collaboration Reviews of Intervention and Policy Evaluations, found that community watches were associated with a relative?reduction in crime of about sixteen percent, and
WHEREAS, by forming a watch or other public safety focused group, neighborhoods make it known that criminal activity will not be tolerated in the community and thereby make the community less attractive for potential criminals, and
WHEREAS, those programs are simple and inexpensive, yet highly effective in the fight against crime. Statistics indicate that communities with active neighborhood watch programs show a decrease in burglaries, car prowls and related crimes, and
WHEREAS, given the increase in crime King County is currentl...

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