Posted by davidbfpo,

As 'Surferbeetle' posted neighbourhood watch is an example of mobilisation; one wonders how LE would respond to neighbourhood change?
LE has pursued this effort in at least a couple of ways I'm aware of, first is implementation of the "broken glass" theory in NYC.

Second, and perhaps more interesting as discussed in Stephen Covey's new book, "The Third Alternative" where the police pursued a different approach that significantly reduced crime that was much less in your face than the "broken glass" approach.

Mobilization for General Purpose Forces means one thing, while mobilization for Special Forces means another. I suspect ours falls much more in line with what you're implying from a law enforcement side. Neighborhood watch is a form of mobilization, and so are flash mobs, etc.

Bottom line remains, it is arrogant on our part to assume those that are not well off are prone to illegal behavior. In many cases the poor will give you the shirt off their back and have much stronger values than many of the well to do white collar criminals on Wall Street or the Square Mile in London.

Of course we should continue to endeavor to eradicate poverty for humane reasons, but we can do that without disrespecting the poor and indirectly referring to them as criminals. The underlying cause for crime I suspect more than any other cause is an individual's value system. It just so happens that some segments in our inner cities (in the U.S.) have extremely poor values and they happen to be poor financially.