FWD: American Blockwart

[David Morris]

>KXX4493553 at aol.com gave us this troubling link (and nothing else):
>http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2002/March/02_ag_125.htm

Which contained this SCARY headline:
"ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHCROFT ANNOUNCES NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH CAMPAIGN"

Just look around you!!!  Who are your neigbors?  And are they watching 
YOU???  (Are you watching THEM???)

Read on (!):

<<<<"The PSA [Public Service Announcement {media)] campaign will suggest 
citizens call to get a Citizens' Preparedness Guide, which provides specific 
actions that individuals can take in their communities to reduce crime. A 
new component is being added to the current neighborhood Watch program that 
provides counter-terrorism measures that citizens can use to join in the 
fight against terrorism. Outlined in the guide are five specific themes; 
protecting yourself and your family, protecting/comforting children, knowing 
and caring for neighbors, reporting crimes and suspicious activity, and 
emergency preparedness. The guide includes:

tips on emergency preparedness at home, at work, when out and about, and in 
the community; ideas on developing an evacuation plan; tips on reporting 
emergencies or suspicious activities; information on traveling safely at 
home and abroad; ideas about voluntary civic activities that can strengthen 
communities; and a list of resources, including phone and fax numbers and 
websites. Citizens are encouraged to visit http://www.weprevent.org or call 
1-800-WE-PREVENT for a free, United for a Stronger America: Citizens' 
Preparedness Guide. ">>>>

---------
Maybe some of you in Europe are not aware of the very common US ground-roots 
home security measure called the "neighborhood watch."  It consist of a 
bunch of neighbors who:

#1: Meet each other, and exchange phone numbers, especially if the live next 
door to each other.
#2: Watch the neighborhood.  This requires opening the window shutters and 
watching what's going on in your street, which may result in getting to know 
neighbors you've never met.
#3: Knowing who's who on your turf.  Territoriality is also called 
"defensible space."
----------

http://www.huduser.org/publications/pubasst/defensib.html

Creating Defensible Space (April 1996, 126 p.)

Concern over high crime rates and deteriorating inner-city neighborhoods has 
reawakened interest in Defensible Space, architect Oscar Newman's 
groundbreaking physical design approach to crime prevention. Creating 
Defensible Space, written by Newman and recently published by HUD's Office 
of Policy Development and Research, draws on Newman's experience carrying 
out and analyzing Defensible Space projects since the early 1970s. This 
publication provides an expert review of the Defensible Space concept and 
three step-by-step case studies to help communities redesign neighborhoods 
for greater safety.
Defensible Space has been misinterpreted, and occasionally even misused, to 
justify design features that have merely fenced public housing or low-income 
residents in or out of particular areas. In fact, Defensible Space theory 
encompasses a wide range of planning and design strategies that focus 
attention on reassigning the perceived ownership of residential space. 
Newman argues that when common spaces associated with highrise housing—such 
as community rooms and outdoor grounds—lack clear owners or are open to too 
many users, residents cannot assert responsibility for their safety and 
maintenance, and these places are left vulnerable to crime and vandalism. 
Newman advocates recreating a sense of ownership in these spaces by dividing 
and "assigning them to individuals and small groups to use and control as 
their own private areas." Once residents reestablish control of their 
environment, "the criminal is isolated because his turf is removed," writes 
Newman.






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