About

The Crime Prevention Coalition of America, created in 1980 to support the McGruff crime prevention advertising campaign, now has more than 350 member organizations and serves as the cornerstone for developing crime prevention efforts in communities across the country. To date the Coalition has:

• Developed crime prevention principles articulated and supported in two key documents, Crime Prevention in America: Call to Action and Foundations for Action, which illustrate how to put the principles into action
• Created an annual observance, Crime Prevention Month (each October), to spur citizens and organizations to take specific actions to prevent crime
• Established McGruff the Crime Dog as the symbol and "Take A Bite Out Of Crime" as the slogan of the National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign
• Sponsored national and regional seminars targeted to policymakers and practitioners to address issues, policies, innovations, programs, and training
• Conducted training that has helped crime prevention practitioners enhance leadership skills, strengthen local initiatives, and provide up-to-date crime prevention resources

Strategies for Action of the Crime Prevention Coalition of America

The Crime Prevention Coalition of America has developed a number of strategies to help carry out its mission of making crime prevention a grassroots community movement and a national priority. The Coalition has worked to

• Develop and implement a crime prevention action initiative to enlist individuals, businesses, faith communities, community groups, and governments to implement prevention strategies, tactics, and programs, building on the success of the National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign
• Identify, develop, and promote community-level programs, projects, policies, and approaches that have proven successful in reducing crime
• Establish substantive themes for community action initiatives
• Foster shared responsibility among Coalition member organizations to encourage prevention-focused reporting on crime
• Enhance the structure and operations of the Crime Prevention Coalition of America to help its member organizations provide leadership in the effort to reduce and prevent crime
• Create Coalition member task groups to focus on specific issues of concern to member organizations
• Strengthen the National Crime Prevention Council, the secretariat of the Crime Prevention Coalition of America, to be the nation's primary source for crime prevention information

Mobilizing the Nation To Prevent Crime, Violence and Drug Abuse

Mobilizing the Nation To Prevent Crime, Violence, and Drug Abuse, the Coalition's 2005 annual report, celebrates the work of Coalition members, highlighting the breadth and diversity of prevention efforts in communities across the nation. Examples include the multifaceted approach of the Citizen Corps program, which includes the Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS), Neighborhood Watch, and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) programs; the Amachi Big Brothers Big Sisters program for mentoring children of prisoners; and the Virginia Crime Prevention Association’s Call To Protect Program, which uses cell phones to fight domestic violence.