DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFF ICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS

BJA NI J OJJDP BJS OVC

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention FACT SHEET

in action

Shay Bilchik 

Administrator

 January 1999 NUMBER 02

Youth Crime Watch of America Youth Crime Watch of America

by Vernon M. Jones

What Is It?

Youth Crime Watch of America

(YCWA), Inc., is a nonprofit

organization that establishes

Youth Crime Watch programs

throughout the United States

and in other countries. YCWA

began in 1978 in Miami, FL,

with the purpose of replicating

the activities and effectiveness

of the Youth Crime Watch of

Dade County. Dade’s Youth Crime

Watch program was modeled

after the Neighborhood Crime

Watch when adults realized

that the youth volunteers knew

more about what was going on

than anyone else. For example,

the youth knew who didn’t

belong in the neighborhood.

YCWA provides you with the

tools and guidance needed to

start a Youth Crime Watch in

your school or community. A

Youth Crime Watch program—

motivated by the principle of

good citizenship—enables you

to take an active role in addressing the crime problems

that exist in your area. Youth

and youth advisors trained in

YCWA methods run the

program for their school,

neighborhood, public housing

site, recreational center, or

park. With hundreds of programs already in operation,

YCWA has greatly reduced

crime and drug use. In 1995,

Miami’s Carol City High School

reported a 45-percent decrease

in student crime. In 1994,

Tampa’s Leto High School

witnessed a 72-percent drop in

crime. YCWA sponsors activities on the elementary, middle,

and high school levels.

Some YCWA goals are to

provide crime-free, drug-free

environments for healthy

learning and living; instill

positive values, foster good

citizenship, and build selfconfidence in youth; and

enable youth to become

resources for preventing drug

use and other crimes in their

schools and neighborhoods.

What Are Some

YCWA Activities?

Through local Youth Crime

Watch programs, YCWA

sponsors and encourages many

activities. Some of these are:

◆ Providing drug and crime

prevention education.

◆ Facilitating communication

and creating anonymous

crime reporting systems.

◆ Establishing youth patrols.

◆ Creating a mentoring program

and teaching mediation skills.

◆ Teaching school bus safety.

◆ Participating in the National

Youth Crime Prevention

Conference.

◆ Providing conflict resolution

training.

◆ Creating action plans.

◆ Training youth as leaders.

◆ Cultivating youth-police

relations.

◆ Establishing community

networks and partnerships.

◆ Planning events throughout

the year.
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

y Prevention Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquenc

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

YFS–9902 Youth in Action Fact Sheet

PRESORTED STANDARD

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

DOJ/OJJDP

PERMIT NO. G–91

In addition, YCWA, in collaboration

with the National Crime Prevention

Council, organizes the annual National

Youth Crime Prevention Conference, a

4-day training conference for youth and

adults. This conference provides an

excellent opportunity for youth to be

directly involved in shaping the conference agenda and in being exposed to

leaders in crime prevention. More than

1,500 crime prevention advocates

attend the conference each year to

network and learn new and innovative

prevention strategies. Youth and youth

advisors attend training sessions that

enable them to further implement

YCWA programs in their schools and

communities.

An important aspect of YCWA is

honoring the individuals who work to

keep schools and communities free of

crime, drugs, and violence. At each

National Youth Crime Prevention

Conference, YCWA recognizes more

than 75 individuals with the following

awards:

◆ Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.

◆ Advisor of the Year.

◆ Student of the Year.

◆ Casey awards—named after the YCWA

mascot, Casey the Crime Watchin’

Cat—in the following categories:

~ Youth volunteer.

~ Adult volunteer.

~ Education.

~ Law enforcement.

~ Legislative.

~ State/national.

~ YCWA alumni.

YCWA Membership

As a YCWA member, you receive monthly

updates and quarterly newsletters that

inform you of upcoming training sessions,

special events, conference activities and

speakers, new resource materials, and

current news from YCWA chapters. To

assist youth in initiating and maintaining

a local program, YCWA has developed a

resource library that includes the following:

◆ YCWA startup kit.

◆ Operations manual.

◆ Youth handbook.

◆ Model YCWA varsity patrol programs.

◆ YCWA mentoring activities handbook.

◆ Community-based YCWA program

handbook.

◆ A Call for Young Heroes, a motivational video.

◆ Safety and crime prevention presentations for use in elementary schools.

For Further Information

Youth Crime Watch of America

9300 South Dadeland Boulevard

Suite 100

Miami, FL 33156

305–670–2409

Fax: 305–670–3805

E-Mail: ycwa@ycwa.org

Internet: www.ycwa.org

Vernon M. Jones is National

Program Director, Youth Crime

Watch of America.

The National Youth Network, founded and

managed by the Office of Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention, consists of

diverse youth leaders from across the Nation

who are sponsored by youth-serving organizations. The goal of the Network is to recognize

and build upon the power and importance of

youth leadership by uniting young people

and adults, through communication and

action, to enable youth organizations and

nonaffiliated youth to have a positive,

formidable impact in our communities and

throughout our Nation.