Crime Prevention Strategy
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Crime Prevention Strategy
Crime prevention can be defined as the efforts to hinder, reduce, and deter criminals and their criminal activities. It is specifically applied to the governmental efforts that are put in place to enforce the rule of law, reduce the rate of crime and uphold criminal justice (Crawford, 2009). The effective measures and strategies that are put in place to reduce the risk of crime occurrence and to mitigate the potential aftermath of criminal activities on individuals and the society at large, including the fear that crime instils, are interventions that add up to crime prevention (CP). Crime prevention is an integrated endeavor that requires the concerned sectors to work in harmony. Multi-disciplinary cooperation is equally a vital factor if crime prevention is to be accomplished. Once the multiple causes of crime are objectively identified and brought to light, effective strategies and programs that encourage civil society participation can then be put in place. These programs include Hot-spot Policing, Targeted arrests, Cooperation and partnerships between law enforcers and different sectors and many more as will be discussed.
The Targeted arrests strategy has been tested and proven to be an effective strategy of crime prevention. This method however, has been under attack by critics from many quarters. Some are justified, however, majority are duly unjustified. False story lines fabricated against police officers have come from a majority of the media houses, some politicians with personal ambitions and some community mobilisers in an unprecedented manner never witnessed before. This has been a great de-service as majority of patrol officers retreat and shy from active policing with an aim of “self-preservation” from these critics. It is a fact however, that despite the many crime prevention programs put in place, including the positive interaction between the law enforcement and community groups, the arrest component is core and crucial to crime prevention and has to occur if any meaningful progress is to be made. It is obviously unrealistic that crime rates could decline without the police making any arrests. Some strategies like increasing the number of police officers in relation to crime rate such that contact between the police and suspected offenders is increased. This however led to complaints filed by law-abiding citizens who were profiled by law enforcement officers as suspicious persons (Lyman, 1964). This random approach is effective but it can lead to multiple lawsuits citing civil rights violations.
Using GPS technology to fight crime is an effective form of targeted arrests and is very essential in crime prevention attempts. GPS crime prevention is enabled by the cooperation between police detectives, crime analysts, officers on patrol joined together with crime prevention specialists. All these units are expected to display maximum cooperation. The role of the crime prevention specialists is to determine target areas for GPS deployment and to provide the necessary and adequate intelligence on neighborhood crimes. Additionally, the work of the crime analysts is to establish statistical data on areas prone to serial offences and to find out the items that are most likely to be stolen and to base the probability of successfully directed efforts of crime prevention. Crime prevention intelligence is crucial at this point because more often than not, property crimes are never filed at the police blotter. Community contacts are tasked to provide direct and prompt feedback to the relevant Crime Prevention specialists to determine places in the various neighborhoods where cases occur but are underreported. GPS clandestine trackers are very effective in curbing and reduction of some of the highly violent robberies, this is so because over 3,000 bank robberies were solved because the culprits escaped with a GPS laced cash pack (Travis, 2010).
Hot spots policing is a crime prevention approach that has effectively worked for many police departments all over the world. It is a method whereby police resources are actively directed and concentrated towards small geographic areas which have recorded a high level of crime over a period of time. Despite the wide implementation of the hotspot policing method, it has faced backlash in some instances when some communities tend to raise concerns and protest the intensive police presence and approach in their areas of residence. Hot spot policing is backed by strong empirical evidence that suggests that crime is likely to be highly concentrated within a specific geographical unit in comparison to other areas. It states crime is like a cancer that is likely to be endemic in one particular unit of a society (Sherman, 1993). Hot spot policing also involves social programs that are aimed at preventing crime in notorious crime zones by targeting youth who get involved in gangs or drop out of schools.
Situational Crime Prevention is a new strategy of crime prevention that provides a preventive methodology that mainly concentrates on how to reduce the opportunities for committing any form of criminal acts (Crime solutions, 2020). The strategy of situational crime prevention involves techniques that include increasing the risk of committing a crime and diminishing any proceeds or rewards of committing a crime. The situational crime prevention strategy is also keen on ensuring that it becomes extremely difficult for a criminal to commit any criminal offence. Situational Crime Prevention is distinguished from other strategies of criminology in the sense that it focuses on the criminal setting and concentrates on the circumstances that propagate specific types of crime. Once the circumstances are clearly understood, situational crime prevention then introduces the relevant mechanisms that are meant to positively influence the environments that propagate crime with an intention of reducing the chances for these criminal engagements. Situational Crime Prevention is a brilliant strategy that aims at making the criminal opportunities seem very risky, not worth it and very unappealing to potential criminal offenders. The major concept behind situational crime prevention is that, it makes potential criminals to feel like they are unable to successfully commit an offence and get away with it without repercussions or being caught, and thus protecting innocent citizens while reducing the crime rate index.
Conclusion
Proper Crime Prevention requires meaningful partnerships, solid community trust, efficient law enforcement in addition to environmental and situational awareness and educating the masses. This combination is a total summation of an effective Crime Prevention Strategy. Prevention is specifically meant to be proactive, it should be a mitigating measure, and must be adaptable and sensitive to the quality of life. These preventive strategies can be implemented in any city and neighborhood to prevent violent crimes. I rest my case with the “Broken windows theory” which states that crime is mainly catalyzed by inadequate social control and poor order within a geographical area, such as a city or a neighborhood, therefore the secret to crime prevention is proper order and strict adherence to the rule of law.
References
Di Ronco, A. (2016). Inspecting the European crime prevention strategy towards incivilities. Crime Prevention And Community Safety, 18(2), 141-160. doi: 10.1057/cpcs.2016.4
CrimeSolutions.gov. (2020). Retrieved 4 August 2020, from https://www.crimesolutions.gov/TopicDetails.aspx?ID=10
Crime Prevention Queensland, Dept. of the Premier & Cabinet. (2002). A strategic framework for community crime prevention. Brisbane, Qld.
CrimeSolutions.gov. (, 2020). Retrieved 4 August 2020, from https://www.crimesolutions.gov/TopicDetails.aspx?ID=10
Telep, C., & Hibdon, J. (2018). Community Crime Prevention in High-Crime Areas: The Seattle Neighborhood Group Hot Spots Project. City & Community, 17(4), 1143-1167. doi: gti10.1111/cico.12342