National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign

McGruff the Crime Dog® and the National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign

The Campaign was the first public education program on crime prevention in the country. It is designed to stimulate community involvement, generate confidence in comprehensive crime prevention activities, and provide a national focus and resource for crime prevention programs across the country.

When the Campaign was formally launched in 1979, most Americans viewed crime as inevitable and its prevention as the job of the police. Today, more than three out of four Americans believe that they can personally take actions to reduce crime and that their neighborhoods and communities can act to prevent crime. A major force behind this shift to a more positive attitude is the National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign.

The Campaign is symbolized by McGruff the Crime Dog®, and his "Take A Bite Out Of Crime®" slogan. Since 1980, McGruff® has been educating and advising Americans through public service advertising, brochures, posters, booklets, educational videos, and personal appearances. In 1993, the ads introduced McGruff's young nephew Scruff® and the "Unete a la lucha contra el crimen®" Campaign for Spanish-speaking populations.

Making prevention a priority through the National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign is a collective effort. This alliance of national, state, and federal organizations works with businesses, civic groups, individuals, and law enforcement to generate crime prevention awareness and action throughout the country through a variety of mechanisms.

The national public service education initiative, a major element of the campaign, is produced by The Advertising Council, Inc., and sponsored by the Crime Prevention Coalition of America and the U.S. Department of Justice. The campaign receives substantial funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, components of the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The National Crime Prevention Council is the day-to-day manager of the campaign. The campaign also includes publications, training, technical assistance, and program development.

For information about the Campaign, specific public service announcements, publications, or this site, please use the form on this site or write to:

The National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign
National Crime Prevention Council
1000 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20036

Do What You Like To Do. And Volunteer!

Need to find a great volunteer opportunity in your area? Don't know how you can use your skills or talents in a way that will help your community?

Take a look through this database for fun, helpful opportunities to make a difference in your community. The database is filled with teen-friendly ways to get involved.

While your there don't forget to look for opportunities to get involved in local chapters of Teens, Crime, and the Community or Center for Youth as Resources .

Teens, Crime, and the Community Teens, Crime and the Community (TCC) is a national youth program that supports the concept of education and action to create safer, more caring communities for youth by youth. Although TCC is usually found in school programs, juvenile justice and community-based sites have used the program as well to improve their community and increase awareness of crime in youth.

Center for Youth as Resources Youth as Resources (YAR) is a philosophy and a program that recognizes youth as valuable community resources and engages them as partners with adults in bringing about positive community change. Community-based YAR programs, governed by a board of youth and adults, provide grants to young people to design and carry out service projects.

The benefits of involving young people in crime prevention:

Changes the negative image of teenagers held by many adults.
Gives young people the chance to solve community problems and help with efforts to improve the community.
Reduces crime among a highly victimized population.
Helps build positive channels of communication between youth and the community institutions such as law enforcement, schools, government.
And teaches young people skills they need to survive and succeed in the adult world.

McGruff has a new commercial to encourage children who witness bullying to take action and stop bullies without confronting them. The ad campaign includes McGruff anti-bullying trading cards that reinforce the message "Friendship beats bullies every time."

CrimeShots © cares about victims. Oftentimes, after a murder is committed, the killer is arrested and all the attention suddenly focuses solely on him/her. The victim is soon forgotten. Most of us know the names of many notorious killers, however, it is quite likely that we could name only a very few of their victims. To forget them is heartbreaking, especially for their families.

--May We ALL Remember The Victims ALWAYS--

and

--May They All Rest In Peace, FOREVER-

It's the action, not the fruit of the action,
that's important. You have to do the right thing.
It may not be in your power, may not be in your time,
that there'll be any fruit.
But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing.
You may never know what results come from your action.
But if you do nothing, there will be no result.
~Gandhi