History of National Crime Prevention Week
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan declared October to be Crime Prevention Week. N.C.P.C. has worked with local law enforcement, government agencies, civic organizations, schools, and businesses since then to help them spread the word about crime prevention and personal safety.
Crime Prevention Week was first observed in 1983 in Canada, due to the federal government. The Alberta government began celebrating the week with a provincial focus in 1992. It was then relocated to May in 1993, at the request of Alberta police forces, to coincide with National Police Week.
The Advertising Council, Inc. assumed the task of assisting the nation in broadcast methods to decrease crime in 1978. The Ad Council tasked Dancer Fitzgerald Sample. Over 19 agencies, which constituted the nucleus of the Crime Prevention Coalition of America, supported and executed the efforts. The National Crime Prevention Council now oversees the National Citizens’ Crime Prevention Campaign, which features McGruff the Crime Dog and his catchphrase, “Take A Bite Out Of Crime.”
McGruff has been at hundreds of community and school events, as well as on radio and television, throughout the years. His themes have shifted from promoting personal, family, and home protection to broader concerns about crime prevention. The United States Postal Service issued a first-class postage stamp featuring McGruff’s face in 1984. McGruff was pushing people to join Neighborhood Watch and clean up streets and parks to make them less appealing to thieves by the mid-1980s. The Campaign addressed the consequences of gun violence on children in the mid-1990s. Volunteering, bullying, Internet safety, and identity theft are all current challenges. McGruff will also address cyberbullying and telemarketing fraud against elders soon.
