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Abstract: 

At the level of the local community, there is in Britain a demand for police to be visible in the streets. This may increase community confidence; but it might also instill the feeling that looking after a community’s safety is someone else’s job. On the other hand, there are programs such as the “Neighborhood Watch,” in which members of the community are encouraged to report anything suspicious to the police; in the process they get to know each other, which strengthens informal social control. Wright asks, “[are these types of programs] empowering people? Or, [are they] asking members of the community to do things for which the government should be directly responsible?”

Keywords: community; restorative justice

Affiliations:  1: Cambridge University Institute of Criminology [ret].