Two vehicles are available to help society gain control over violent crime; they are gun control and community policing. Fear of crime is pervasive and, as a result, the elderly stay home at night, women take extreme precautions to protect themselves, and parents worry about their children's safety while they are going to, coming home from, and learning at school. The presence of guns is a disturbing indicator of people's tolerance and expectation of crime. Police officers are called upon to counter the gun lobby by holding it accountable, at least in part, for the rising homicide rates in the U.S. National registration of handguns, a ban on assault rifles, and illegalization of the sale of certain kinds of ammunition are required. Community policing, though, is the key to stopping neighborhood crime and violence, by building a police-public relationship that makes life disagreeable and dangerous for criminals.