In the past 13 years, Japan has been experiencing a boom in volunteering activities aimed atcrime prevention; as close to 3,000,000 Japanese citizens have involved themselves in... Show moreIn the past 13 years, Japan has been experiencing a boom in volunteering activities aimed atcrime prevention; as close to 3,000,000 Japanese citizens have involved themselves in volunteeringactivities with this aim. This article firstly examines how such a boom has come about.It secondly addresses the ways in which volunteers represent their own activities and theirreasons for engaging in and continuing with these activities. The article finally addresses theimpact of volunteering activities on the neighborhoods in which they are undertaken, as well asimplications of article findings for discussions on neighborhood watch programs in non-Japanesecontexts. This article is based on participant observation, interviews with and material producedby members of three volunteering groups as well as members of local governments and thepolice.The crime prevention volunteering boom has been largely conceptualized and orchestrated bythe Japanese police in close cooperation with the local government and neighborhood associations.Volunteers' activities are as a result informed and influenced by criminological theories,concepts and research, while also embedded in more general (local) government “town building”efforts aimed at creating a living environment in which people can lead healthy lives whilefeeling safe and secure. Volunteers phrased their motivation in terms of both such town buildingidea(l)s and the threat of crime. They represented crime as existing outside of the neighborhood,and as both effectively impacted by volunteering activities and immutably threatening. While theimpact of volunteering activities on crime rates is difficult to assess, these activities in any caseprovide opportunities for increased social interaction and physical activity, while also resultingin spaces in which the neighborhood's eyes are always watching. Show less
