Violent crime, the use of illegal drugs, and juvenile crime have risen to proportions that disconcert and frighten Americans. The American dilemma is that the general public and the criminology experts are divided about how to respond to this situation. The public and its political representatives believe that intensified law enforcement and more severe punishment are the keys to crime policy. There is little support for programs that would address the causes of crime. Criminology experts and many practitioners, however, argue that deterrence is failing and cannot be improved. While this debate about public policy continues, there is a largely unnoticed countercurrent in anticrime activities in the United States. The citizens in many communities are devising and implementing local anticrime programs. They are varied in their sponsorship, sources of support, organization, and programmatic direction. Contemporary American experience shows that there may be more wisdom in the diverse actions of communities than in the formal responses of the political system. A 22-item bibliography