Crime prevention series

Appendix I: What does a working group do?

Published in:
Crime prevention for migrant communities
Kayleen M Hazlehurst
Canberra : Australian Institute of Criminology, 1990
ISBN 0 642 15514 3 ; ISSN 1031-5330
(Crime prevention series) ; pp. 36-38

1. The Vision. The working group is responsible for shaping the vision of the community. This involves asking the people what they want for themselves and for their children in the future. A community meeting could be called for this purpose.
2. Identifying the problems. The second step is to identify problem areas that contribute to crime. For example, youth vandalism may be the crime problem identified, and lack of recreational facilities as a cause of crime; domestic violence or child abuse could be seen as a crime problem, and excessive drinking, boredom, or lack of self-esteem could be seen as some of the reasons for these crimes.
3. Seeking Solutions. The working group is responsible for seeking answers to the crime problems it has identified. This could include asking for community ideas, looking at what other communities have done, utilising agency help, and reviewing written materials to consider solutions to the identified problems. A plan to achieve the community's vision is then developed from the chosen strategies.
4. Action Planning. It is the working group's responsibility to recruit volunteers, work with the leaders of the community, invite agency input, find money (if necessary), delegate responsibilities, rally community support, gather necessary resources, organise training, and any other tasks that are required to implement the plan.
   Community education is an important part of this process. It may be necessary to raise the community's awareness of the environment in which they live, and how they can make it a safer place through practical preventative measures.
5. Establishing Support Groups. Through the establishment of special support groups, the working group should be able to help victims of crime, and urge healing activities for offenders and the rest of the community. Through activities and liaison work the working group will help reduce the fear of crime, and encourage people's participation in actively solving crime problems and in giving their support to positive programs for prevention.
6. Monitoring and Evaluation. It is important for the working group to check up on, or to 'monitor' its own programs; and to weigh up how successful these have been - to 'evaluate' these programs.
   This includes encouraging community feedback, strengthening communication with the whole community, and making sure they are meeting the community's vision for its future.
7. Making Changes. Where it is necessary, or where community needs have changed, it may be beneficial to make some changes or adjustments to our programs. The working group should not be disheartened when a program does not achieve community acceptance or success overnight. In any exercise of community development, changes and adjustments are a normal part of growth and learning.