DANGER, COMMUNITY, AND THE MEANING OF CRIME WATCH

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
This article compares the meaning of neighborhood crime watch for White and African American participants. Both Whites and African Americans from crime watch groups to improve security and enhance neighborhood solidarity. They seek to accomplish these goals by becoming the “eyes and ears of the police.” African Americans, however, also form crime watch groups to restore the roles of “othermothers” and “old heads.” This race-based difference in the meaning of crime watch stems from differences in perceptions of danger and memories of what community was like in the past.