Despite great efforts, the battle against drugs in many high-crime urban neighborhoods is being lost, and violent crime is nearing record levels. By pursuing the enforcement strategy at all levels, possible alternative approaches to the problem, such as community-oriented and social prevention programs, have been ignored. The central elements of community policing include increasing the quantity of and quality of interaction between police and citizenry and giving greater attention to pro-active problem-solving and crime prevention strategies. Community-based efforts to control and prevent crime are numerous and diverse and include anti-drug rallies, citizen patrols, anonymous reporting and surveillance programs, safe school zones, and closing drug houses. However, drawbacks of these initiatives include the risk of vigilantism and the questionable impact on public safety. 41 references