Abstract
Established in England and Wales in the context of the neo-liberal governments of the 1980s and promoted through the New Local agenda of New Labour and beyond, Neighborhood Watch (NW) is a primary means through which the state and citizens may co-produce crime control. However, whether citizens have the time or inclination to co-produce is debated and it is generally believed that NW proliferates in advantaged, low crime rate areas that need it least. Drawing on analysis of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) (1988-2010/2011) this article examines long-term trends in participation in NW. It examines the proliferation of NW, how household support for NW fluctuates once established, and the changing importance of some of the key household drivers of participation in NW. It then assesses the extent to which NW schemes are concentrated in more affluent areas, showing that this is moderated by crime risk.
Highlights
The ‘co-production’ of public services ‘Co-production’ is a cornerstone of public policy reform in England and Wales as it is across the globe (Osborne et al 2016: 639)
Though arrangements may vary in practice, the term co-production suggests that outcomes relevant to the provision of public services are being produced by the activity of public service agents together with the voluntary activities of citizens or groups of citizens
Throughout the 1990s, there was a general increase in the number of Neighbourhood Watch (NW) schemes in operation in England and Wales, with more than 30% of areas identified as part of a scheme by 2000, up from less than 20% of areas in 1988 (Figure 1, top panel)
Summary
The ‘co-production’ of public services ‘Co-production’ is a cornerstone of public policy reform in England and Wales as it is across the globe (Osborne et al 2016: 639). While there clearly is a long history of citizen involvement in crime control and the roles played are wide ranging, contemporary calls for citizens in England and Wales to co-produce can be situated within the neo-liberal Conservative administrations of the 1980s and 1990s, which stressed the desirability of rolling back the state, improving the efficiency of public services and promoting volunteering and community/citizen action (Crawford 1999; Bullock 2014) It was into this political and economic context that Neighbourhood Watch (NW) became established in England and Wales. Democratic accountability took a new twist with the introduction of elected officials (police and crime commissioners) who serve to orient police services around the needs of citizens and communities and offer the prospect of indirectly holding the service to account (see e.g. Bullock 2014; Lister and Rowe 2015)
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