Celebrate Safe Communities
Celebrate crime prevention in communities making a difference. Start by connecting with your local law enforcement. October is Crime Prevention Month, a time to Celebrate Safe Communities (CSC). Join us this October by coordinating your own local events.
Celebrate Safe Communities (CSC) is crime prevention done the right way – local people working with local law enforcement to address local issues. CSC spotlights communities’ crime prevention efforts, enhances public awareness of vital crime prevention and safety messages, and recruits year-round support for ongoing prevention activities that help people keep neighborhoods safe from crime and prepared for any emergency.
Crime Prevention Month Themes
The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) selects annual themes based on crime trends and local feedback. NCPC works with national partners to provide free, online resources to help communities address these trends locally. Resources—training programs, blogs, podcasts, downloadable education materials, and links—will help law enforcement, crime prevention practitioners, and community groups plan and implement CSC events during Crime Prevention Month or throughout the year. Budgets are tight, so it’s more important than ever to emphasize prevention by recognizing past successes, organizing new CSC events, and planning for the future.
Each week of Crime Prevention Month, a theme, partners, and resources will be highlighted.
Week 1: Identity Theft: Shine a Spotlight on Fraud
MidSouth Bank is collaborating with NCPC to bring widespread awareness of scams to its communities through the #ShineALightOnFraud social media campaign. Learn more about this informative campaign for both children and adults at www.midsouthbank.com/ShineALightOnFraud.htm.
Week 2: Safe Firearms Storage
The Safe Firearms Storage campaign encourages current and prospective firearm owners to safely lock up their firearms when they’re not in use. NCPC developed the public service advertising (PSA) campaign in partnership with the Ad Council and funding by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
Week 3: Living Safer, Being Smarter
Across the country, young adults are being victimized at alarming rates. Crimes, such as credit card fraud, identity theft, and burglary, threaten the 18- to 24-year-old population and often define their first experiences as unsafe ones. In an effort to teach this population crime prevention skills, NCPC and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice have developed the “Smarter” Resource Project for Young Adults.
Week 4: Gang Prevention
NCPC’s provides training, information, strategies to reduce gang presence, promote safe environments, and re-direct youth involvement away from gang activity. NCPC provides resources and materials to help youth and their parents explore why some young people join gangs or participate in drugs, weapons, and vandalism activities that are often connected to gang participation.
Additional Crime Prevention Month Resources
Prevent Financial Fraud: Before You Invest, Ask and Check
Get Real About Intellectual Property Theft
About Celebrate Safe Communities
Celebrate Safe Communities is brought to you by the National Crime Prevention Council. It was developed in 2008 in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance at the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) to promote crime prevention in local communities across the country.
A CSC event can be anything large or small, such as an anti-drug march, a community safety fair, or a neighborhood cleanup. When you register your event, you will have access to free downloadable crime prevention resources, training programs, and other incentives. On a first-come, first-serve basis, Sites can order print resources, such as Neighborhood Watch manuals or new comic books, for a small fee.
Join the movement to create communities where everyone works together for public safety. Register your Crime Prevention Month or other safety events planned throughout the year at www.celebratesafecommunities.org.
