Social and Behavioral Science

One of the series of videos from the 'Crime File' public affairs program, this video on neighborhood safety mainly uses a panel interview to describe, evaluate, and identify success factors for police-citizen crime prevention programs; programs considered include citizen patrol, block watch, police 'storefront' services, and police door-to-door contact with citizens.

Numerous states and hundreds of municipalities have laws restricting the location of a convicted sex offender's residence. Little is known about the effectiveness of these restrictions. Do they keep children safer or give a false sense of safety? Some people suggest these laws are driven by media attention to a few cases. Others believe they are not grounded in research.