Volunteering for community crime prevention: examining guardianship and the Block Parent program of Canada

This article considers the concept of guardianship and examines volunteerism using an example of a Canadian crime prevention program that has been in operation over the past five decades. The Block Parent program of Canada started in 1968 and was a large scale, volunteer run, child safety program, w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Crime prevention and community safety 2023-09, Vol.25 (3), p.258-281
Main Author: Varma, Kimberly N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Crime and Society
Crime prevention
Criminology and Criminal Justice
Guardians
Original Article
Social Sciences
Volunteers
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Summary:This article considers the concept of guardianship and examines volunteerism using an example of a Canadian crime prevention program that has been in operation over the past five decades. The Block Parent program of Canada started in 1968 and was a large scale, volunteer run, child safety program, which was initiated in response to a tragic child abduction in Ontario, Canada. “Block Parent” volunteers comprised mostly of stay-at-home mothers would place signs in their window to indicate a safe refuge for children. The program became national in 1986 and, at its height, had over 500,000 participating homes in the early 1990s. Just under two decades later that number dropped to 25,000 homes and continues to decline. This study reports the findings of a survey of 1297 Canadians carried out in 2021, which examined volunteerism, civic engagement, and child protection concerns using a Block Parent approach. Findings indicate that while only a small proportion of respondents volunteer in crime prevention programs, these programs appear to provide symbolic and instrumental purposes. Furthermore, findings indicate that volunteerism is linked to community cohesion.
ISSN:1460-3780
1743-4629
DOI:10.1057/s41300-023-00180-6