United People Against Crime
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Crime Prevention 101
All you need to know to prevent crime from happening.
Blue Print for Setting Up a Crime Reporting System
taken from a manual of UPAC National
The main functions of an anonymous and safe crime reporting system are to:
1. Eliminate fear of retaliation
2. Encourage citizens and the youth to report crime.
3. Prevent drug abuse, crime and violence in schools and neighborhood through reporting.
Why set-up a crime reporting system in your school or neighborhood?
It makes reporting easier and safe
It prevents crime by sharing information about potential problems
It helps authorities to solve crimes
It establishes an ethic that endorses reporting as the right and responsible thing to do. That atmosphere makes it harder for criminals to succeed and contribute to a feeling of safety and security among all members of the community.
Citizens understand the importance of reporting crime. They want safer schools and neighborhoods, and if they know how to report effectively, they'll do it.
What is Crime Reporting?
Most simply, it's giving the proper authorities information you have about
A crime that might be committed
A crime that has been committed, or
Someone who was involved in committing a crime
In other words, it's preventive, not just reactive.
Reporting prevents crime in at least four ways:
1. It heads off incidents before they can take place
2. It helps to identify problems causing crimes
3.It makes it easier to find criminals and prevent them from offending again
4. It creates a climate that does not tolerate crime
An effective crime reporting system encourages candor and reduces fear by providing anonymous as well as direct ways to report. It educates the school or neighborhood about what to report, how to report, and why to report. It shares successes so the community knows the system works. It is sensitive to its audience and supportive of their safety and security.
What gets reported?
Anything that would be considered a felony or a serious misdemeanor - thefts, assaults with or without weapons, drug use or dealing, vandalism, graffiti, arson, sexual assaults, or threats of these crimes.
Key steps in starting a crime reporting system
1. Devise a reporting system that is dependable and safe. Most plans involve one or more of the following:
tip box
phone line
citizen patrol
direct reporting
2. Advertise the importance of reporting with posters, flyers, community newspaper announcements, and commendations
3. Train participants on:
How to handle anonymous tips
How to report crime anonymously
Non-confrontation
How to observe incidents without being involved
What You Need
To start or strengthen a crime reporting system, you need:
1. Committed people
2. A system for both anonymous and face-to-face reporting
3. Education for those who run the system and how to explain the system, handle reports and respond helpfully to victims
4. Education for the school or neighborhood in what to report, how to report, and why to report
Education for those who run the system includes teaching those who might receive crime reports how to take a useful report, how to treat reports confidentially, how to help victims, and how to teach others to use the system. Operational details of the system, such as how often reports are collected, what information is vital for a report to be useful, and what happens to a report once it's received are important for this group.
Education for those who use the system on what should be reported - specific kinds of crimes or crimes-in-the-making, tips about who committed particular crimes, and so on; information that the report should contain; how to report crime when time is critical, what will happen to reports, and how reporting helps prevent crime and build a sense of security.
Education can happen in many ways - fliers and brochures advertising the system, presentations at assemblies or in classes or meetings, videos that can be shown at meetings or in classes, posters throughout the area, bookmarks, articles in the local paper, to name just a few.
Reporting Methods
Effective methods of anonymous reporting include:
The tip box
The telephone coupled with an answering machine or voice mail
E-mail to a central address
A web site that directs reports to a central address
Oral reports
The tip box usually consists of several locked boxes at key points around the school or neighborhood. Each box has a slot for inserting written reports. Boxes need to be located in places that are reasonably populated - not deserted and not in the middle of heavy traffic. The box (and education about using it) should remind students and citizens of what's needed for a good report - a dated, legible note describing as much as possible who, what, when, where, why, and how. Advantages of the tip box include low cost, low reliance of technology, and written records. Disadvantages include unreadable reports and limited access. Tip boxes also require that someone physically visit and collect reports from each of the boxes.
Telephone reporting systems offer a number of variations. Some include a toll-free line directed to a cell phone. Some reporting lines are partnered with a hotline. Calls left on a voicemail or answering machine can be retrieved from anywhere. The report taker doesn't have to visit boxes. The telephone approach allows students to call from school, from home, from a friend's or from a pay phone. People tend to be comfortable talking on the phone, so this approach leaves no lasting record of the report, unless messages taped or transcribed and checked for accuracy. It also requires resources - funds or in-kind donations for the equipment, the telephone service, and a secure area in which to house the equipment.
E-mail and web sites have proved successful in reaching out to those who are electronically literate. Some systems have both an e-mail box and a web site for crime reports. Both e-mail and web approaches can provide printed reports to send to appropriate authorities. there are drawbacks - setting up the web page or e-mail properly (though a youth can probably provide help). the fact that many Filipinos still may not have convenient access to computers, and the need to ensure security of the system to protect reporters' anonymity.
Written and oral reports have the advantage that many trust the human link more than the plastic box or the electronics of phones and e-mails.
Education about crime reporting is an ongoing process. New participants come in every year; the system acquires new features; or reporting methods change.
Education should target adults in the community as well as young people. It should emphasize the preventive power of reporting, not just the need to report crimes that happened or information on criminal suspects.
Role plays, staged "fake crimes" that challenge viewers to recall details accurately, and memory games sharpen observational skills. Discussions of reporting in difficult but hypothetical situations - date rape, child abuse, suspected crimes - can help citizens and students sort out their concerns. Don't forget to share successes.
Keep it up!
A system that works - one that reduces crime - makes for a happiier, safer community or school. Spreading the word about how reporting system has helped produce these results strengthens the community's sense of ownership in the system and their tendency to keep using it. Successful programs also build support from higher authorities in the neighborhood or school and from key outside partners, including law enforcement.
Citizen patrols are volunteers who walk an area to report incidents and problems to the police and provide a visible presence that deters criminal activity. Some use bicycles, motorcycles, vans or cars to cover large areas. They generally have no policing powers, carry no weapons, are non-confrontational, and always coordinate with law enforcement. Citizen patrols can cover a village, a neighborhood, an apartment complex, a business district, or a park. They contact the police dispatcher or crime desk through two-way radios or cellular phones donated by a local business. Cameras or video equipment may be used to record suspicious activity. Many are based in a Neighborhood Watch group.
The citizen patrol should:
Undergo training by law enforcements
Work in teams
wear identifying clothing or ID
Never carry weapons such as guns or knives
Always carry a pad and pencil, and a flash light if it is dark
Be courteous and helpful to residents of the area being patrolled
Keep logs and file reports
Remember, citizen patrols can take on extra duties, such as escort services, traffic control, crowd control at community events, identifying neighborhood nuisance concerns, checking on homebound residents, and identifying and reporting abandoned vehicles.