original exterior salvaged milwaukee single-sided stamped steel "mcgruff neighborhood" school building sign with nicely weathered and worn finish

SOLD
Out of stock
SKU
UR-24984-17
city of milwaukee, wisc., streets and sanitation

 

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completely intact rounded edge stamped steel lightweight exterior or outdoor "mcgruff neighborhood" sign designed and fabricated by dancer fitzgerald sample through the ad council and later the national crime prevention council. the sign was originally mounted against the wall of a city of milwaukee school building that has since been demolished. the single-sided sign shows a nicely weathered finish consistent with age and exposure to the elements. the decades prior to mcgruff's creation saw an increase in public concern over crime. in the 1960's, a number of riots broke out across the nation and numerous public figures were assassinated, including president kennedy, martin luther king, jr., and malcolm x. accepting the republican nomination for president, barry goldwater positioned crime as one of the biggest issues facing the nation. while goldwater lost to lyndon johnson, the issue of crime did not stop there. in july 1965, president johnson formed the president's commission on law enforcement and administration of justice to "probe ... fully and deeply into the problems of crime in our nation." after two years and $2.5 million, the commission delivered its report, the challenge of crime in a free society, in february 1967 which influenced the safe streets and control act of 1968. the act gave $300 million to local police forces for more personnel and equipment. with the election of richard nixon in 1968, the attempts to control rising crime rates shifted from a social approach—the "war on poverty"—to a tough on crime approach—the "war on crime". despite nixon's attempts, crime continued to rise from 363.5 crimes per 100,000 people in 1970 to 549.5 in 1979. the carter administration took the focus away from crime and onto nuclear arms control and human rights. during carter's presidency, crime continued to be a concern with the "kill for thrill murders" of 1979, when two men killed four people over eight days in western pennsylvania. the mcgruff house program was a program that designated temporary safe havens for children in emergency situations. the program was first created in utah in 1982 in response to the kidnapping and murder of five children by arthur gary bishop. owners of houses and apartments, after clearing a background check, would display a sign in their window with the image of mcgruff. children would be educated at school and community events to go to these houses when they felt threatened or in need of help. the program operated under the motto "we'll call for help" and emphasized its use as a temporary haven. volunteers were trained to call the appropriate authorities in emergency situations and would provide emotional support to children in danger. the program made clear that volunteers were for emergency situations and even in such situations volunteers would not act as escorts or provide first aid "except in extreme emergency situations and then only if qualified. the first mcgruff truck was established in utah in 1986. a utility company asked that its trucks be designated as "rolling mcgruff houses" and were approved. the program was extended to other companies and municipalities, and in 2006 there were over 170 participants. in february 2012, the mcgruff house program was ended after nearly 30 years. the program was ended because, with the advent and growing prominence of cell phones, the need for mcgruff houses declined combined with tightening budgets.

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