Sunday, October 6, 2013

Neighborhood Watch In Effect Since Harold Washington Administration




Birchwood Avenue east of Sheridan feels like a place that time forgot. Especially the Charleville building. An odd sign is perched high on a telephone pole in the alley that says "Walk With Dan".

Imagine what this neighborhood watch program has been through and seen? If this isn't the oldest sign in the neighborhood or city of its kind, its pretty close. Harold Washington was mayor from 1983-1987, making this sign almost thirty years old.

"In the late 1960s, an increase in crime heightened the need for a crime prevention initiative focused on residential areas and involving local citizens. The National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) responded, creating the National Neighborhood Watch Program in 1972 to assist citizens and law enforcement."

The neighborhood watch program was in part based on data compiled by sociologists Shaw and Mckay (at U of C) who studied crime and delinquency based on census tracts here in Chicago.

Boris the burglar turned 40 years old last year.

Please continue reading for more pictures








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