94 lines
4.2 KiB
Plaintext
94 lines
4.2 KiB
Plaintext
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October 1991
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POLICE PRACTICES
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TELEMARKETING CRIME PREVENTION
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By
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David I. Rechenmacher
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Lieutenant
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Downers Grove, Illinois, Police Department
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In dealing with residential burglaries, traditional law
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enforcement practices tend to be strictly reactive and do little
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to deter future crime. Additionally, due to fiscal constraints
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in many jurisdictions, this problem is compounded by the limited
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number of police officers available to patrol neighborhoods.
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And, while neighborhood watch programs are important, they can
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be difficult to maintain due to the high mobility of our
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society.
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The problems of residential burglaries confront every law
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enforcement agency in the country. And, the Downers Grove,
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Illinois, Police Department, with a sworn and civilian staff of
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92, is no different. However, even with a crime prevention
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program in place, local residents did not request any crime
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prevention assistance.
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HOME SECURITY SURVEY
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The police department determined that the best service it
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could provide to deter residential burglary was to offer a home
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security survey. The home security survey, performed by members
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of the department's Crime Prevention Unit, is a proactive
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program aimed at reducing the number of residential burglaries.
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In the past, however, the Crime Prevention Unit performed
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home security surveys when requested by citizens.
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Unfortunately, this method resulted in only 30-40 home surveys
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being conducted annually, despite an area population of 46,000.
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It was clear that in order for the program to be more effective,
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it needed to reach more residents.
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REACHING THE PUBLIC
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As a result, in October 1988, the unit began having
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messages printed on all water bills forwarded to Downers Grove
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residents. These messages encouraged residents to call the
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police department to make appointments for free home security
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surveys. This initiative was met with a very positive response
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from the community and resulted in 258 home security surveys
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being conducted during 1989.
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TELEMARKETING
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Encouraged by the success of this initiative, the unit
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thought that a more-aggressive marketing campaign would deliver
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even better results. Therefore, in early 1990, the unit began a
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telemarketing program using the city telephone directory as a
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source for contacts.
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Under this program, the Crime Prevention Unit's community
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support assistant telephones residents to explain the free home
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security survey and to make appointments to conduct the survey
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at a time and date convenient to the resident. During the
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survey, which takes approximately 1 hour, a crime prevention
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practitioner evaluates home security risks, such as exterior
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lighting and landscaping, doors, windows, and locks, and gives
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advice to homeowners that would make their property and
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possessions less vulnerable to burglars.
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RESULTS
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The telemarketing of home security surveys in Downers
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Grove, Illinois, has not only proved successful but it has also
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paid big community relations dividends for the police department
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and the Village of Downers Grove. In 1990, the Crime Prevention
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Unit completed 380 surveys and expects to perform over 400
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during 1991.
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CONCLUSION
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Unfortunately, the importance of adequate crime prevention
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is oftentimes difficult to instill in the general public until
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it is too late. However, if law enforcement agencies want
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successful crime prevention programs, they need to reach out to
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the citizens before the unfortunate occurrence takes place.
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Programs of this type are especially appropriate for departments
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with small crime prevention components, because instead of
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expensive equipment or capital outlay, they require only time
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and dedication.
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