[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 140 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11961-S11962]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CHRISTOPHER HAYES HONORED BY NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, next week, on October 14th, the National 
Crime Prevention Council will honor Christopher F. Hayes of Boston as 
one of the seven recipients of this year's Ameritech Award of 
Excellence in Crime Prevention. The award recognizes individuals who 
demonstrate outstanding leadership, courage, and dedication to crime 
prevention in their neighborhoods, states, or nationally.
  This honor is a well-deserved tribute to Christopher Hayes and his 
13-year career as Founder and Director of the Neighborhood Crime Watch 
Unit of the Boston Police Department.
  Mr. Hayes founded the Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit in 1985 as a one-
person organization based on the philosophy that the key to crime 
prevention is to rely on connections from neighbor to neighbor. He 
urged people to work together and with the police to create innovative 
solutions for reducing local crimes. The initial model for his crime 
watch group was simple phone tree and

[[Page S11962]]

whistle alert system that allowed neighbors to keep in touch with each 
other.
  Today, the Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit offers support and training 
for such neighborhood groups, which now total 962 in Boston and account 
for a third of all streets in the city. The successes have been 
impressive. Entrenched drug dealers have been exposed and forced out. 
Muggings have been averted. Suspects have been arrested. Drugs have 
been seized. Vacant lots have been reclaimed. Neighborhoods have been 
reborn. Neighborhood watch units have been a vital part of the effort 
to reduce the crime rate in Boston to the record lows the city is now 
enjoying.
  I commend Christopher Hayes for his innovative leadership and his 
extraordinary contribution to our city.

                          ____________________