- Set up a Neighborhood Watch or a community patrol, working with police.
- Make sure your streets and homes are well-lighted.
- Make sure that all the youth in the neighborhood have positive ways to spend their spare
time, through organized recreation, tutoring programs, part-time work, and volunteer
opportunities.
- Build a partnership with police, focused on solving problems instead of reacting to
crises. Make it possible for neighbors to report suspicious activity or crimes without
fear of retaliation.
- Take advantage of "safety in numbers" to hold rallies, marches, and other
group activities to show you're determined to drive out crime and drugs.
- Clean up the neighborhood! Involve everyone - teens, children, senior citizens.
Graffiti, litter, abandoned cars, and run-down buildings tell criminals that you don't
care about where you live or each other. Call the local public works department and ask
for help in cleaning up.
- Ask local officials to use new ways to get criminals out of your building or
neighborhood. These include enforcing anti-noise laws, housing codes, health and fire
codes, anti-nuisance laws, and drug-free clauses in rental leases.
- Work with schools to establish drug-free zones.
- Work with recreation officials to do the same for parks.
- Develop and share a phone list of local organizations that can provide counseling, job
training, guidance, and other services that can help neighbors.
THINK ABOUT IT
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