How Do We Prevent Crime in Our Neighborhoods?

Happy Leap Day, everyone.

Recently I learned that the home of one of our neighbors was burglarized. I don't have the story firsthand, but from what I've heard the burglar or burglars entered the home by forcing open a basement door. No one was hurt, I do know that. 

Beyond my usual level of indignation that anyone would presume to forcibly enter someone else's residence and take things that don't belong to them, hearing about the crime got me thinking: how do we prevent crime? My natural inclination was to think about the locks on the doors of our home and garage. Are they strong enough, I wondered? We have motion sensors on the lights in our back yard, but should we start leaving the front porch light on at night?

Then I remembered someone told me once that the best thing you can do to protect yourself from property crime is to buy good insurance and document your possessions. There are few things you can do to truly foil a determined criminal. Obviously some common sense things one might try is not leaving your laptop computer sitting on the kitchen table next to an open window, and don't leave your iPod sitting on the seat of your car while it's parked at the shopping center. 

I do these things, and sometimes when I do I resent the fact that I feel the need to. In the Utopia of my mind, I shouldn't have to lock my house and my car; I shouldn't have to make sure valuables aren't in view when I'm not around. But I do, and so I do.

Beyond that, however, I'm wondering what you all think are the most effective things we can do as a community to prevent crime? Do we need more "eyes on the street?" Do we need more police? Does deterring criminals start in the schools, or at home? As you answer, think about personal crime – muggings, home break-ins, stolen cars – and community crime such as graffiti, speeding in neighborhoods, running stop signs, vandalism, etc.

So let's hear it. How do we prevent crime?