Portland has a long history of community involvement in neighborhood based crime prevention. One of the best ways to decrease crime in a community is for people within the neighborhood to be connected and communicate with each other. Neighbors need to know who and what activities belong in their neighborhood, what is unusual, and how to document and report suspicious activity. Criminals are less likely to go into an area if they know that the community is organized and united. Getting people to be watchful and involved in the safety of their community not only reduces crime, but increases the pride in making their neighborhood a safe and healthy place to live.