Criminal Justice: Effectiveness of multiagency partnerships in crime reduction - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages This essay discusses that in the endless search for more efficient and effective methods of crime prevention, criminal justice scholars in Western Europe, North America, and Australia have noted the tendency for greater government investment in "partnerships" and "coalitions". Prevention and control of crime is no more the sole responsibility of the police. Public, private, social, governmental, religious and cultural agency involvement is necessary for the crime prevention as per the findings of modern researches. The changes in the concept of crime prevention are taking place because of the ever increasing crime rates across the world. Since the reasons of occurrence of crime are multifaceted, it is difficult for a single agency to implement effective strategies to control all types of criminal activities. For example, economic problems, social problems, structural or caste related problems, cultural problems can and international terrorism can cause different types of crimes in a society. Multilevel interventions are necessary to prevent such diverse criminal activities. The cooperation from different crime intervention agencies from different countries is necessary to prevent international terrorism. Rosenbaum has pointed that “the criminal justice system cannot, by itself, solve the complex problems of crime, drugs, and disorder in our society. Resources from outside the system are desperately needed, as well as new ways of thinking about these problems from the inside”. ...
For example, many of the American crime prevention agencies have multiagency partnerships with similar agencies in overseas countries to fight against terrorism. This paper analyses the effectiveness of multiagency partnerships in crime prevention and reduction. Advantages of using multiagency partnerships in crime reduction The Midwest Prevention Project in Kansas and Missouri has been a big success story utilizing mass media education, school-based education, parent education and organizing, community organizing, and changes in health policy to produce desired reductions in adolescent use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. The Minnesota Heart and Health Program (MHHP) is another comprehensive initiative that has achieved substantial reductions in cigarette smoking in three communities through school-based education, cardiovascular risk factor screening, health education, community mobilization, continuing education of health professionals, mass media education campaigns, and both adult and youth education (Rosenbaum, n.d, p.175). Alcoholism and drug addiction are some of the major problems among American school children at present. Majority of the school violence cases in America are related to Alcoholism and drug addiction. Children during their developmental stages do not have enough maturity to segregate between good and evil. Moreover, the development of various types of hormones during adolescence may force teenagers to demonstrate aggressive behaviors. Majority of the sex related crimes among teenagers are occurring because of the development of sex hormones during puberty. Teenagers may not have the awareness about the bodily changes they are undergoing. All these factors contribute heavily to the increasing crime rates among ...Download file to see next pages Read More