From neighborhood watch to neighborhood watch out: the effects of normative information on perceptions and fear of crime

Although Neighborhood Watch is by far the most widely implemented approach to\ud community-based crime prevention, there is a paucity of methodologically sound\ud research examining the components of the program. This study examines the utility\ud of one prominent element of these community-based crime prevention programs - the\ud posting of Neighborhood Watch signs. Recent developments in social psychology\ud suggest that the posting of such signs could inadvertently alter perceptions of crime in\ud the community by presenting a normative message that crime is a problem in the area.\ud A pilot study demonstrated that the content of Neighborhood Watch signs can indeed\ud convey a normative message about crime. Next, a laboratory study was conducted to\ud examine the impact of Neighborhood Watch signs on perceived crime rates,\ud likelihood of victimization, community safety, and estimations of home and\ud community quality. The study utilized a simulated community tour in which either an\ud injunctive, high crime descriptive, low crime descriptive, or no Neighborhood Watch\ud sign was posted. A 2 (Gender) x 4 (Sign Type) factorial ANOVA was conducted for\ud each outcome variable. Results showed that Neighborhood Watch signs that focus the\ud viewer's attention on the high prevalence of crime (high descriptive norm) resulted in\ud higher perceived crime rates and perceived likelihood of victimization, as well as\ud lower ratings of community safety, home value, and community quality compared to\ud communities where no signs were posted. Implications of these findings for policy\ud and practice are discussed. KEYWORDS: fear of crime, Neighborhood Watch, social\ud norms, normative beliefs, community perceptions, descriptive norm