The Future of Crime Prevention - Essay Example

In the juvenile justice system, people need to do anything possible to prevent crimes from happening because the possibility of recidivism is extremely high. Both crime prevention and crime control are important to achieve this goal; however, people need to focus on crime prevention more in order to create a healthy and safe environment where children and teens are not motivated to start their criminal careers. Crime prevention programs are often initiated by local communities; they are more responsive to the needs of young people in different locations.

Moreover, crime prevention programs can be more effective in terms of availability of resources and community support. I believe that it is more effective and cheaper to support one community center for teenagers than to keep them in correctional facilities. Many young people commit crimes because they are motivated by their environment. Street gangs, the threat of violence, poverty or dysfunctional relationships in a family make them choose the wrong path. Prevention programs often create many healthy and safe alternatives; they include these children in their community and make them more responsible.

At the same time, control programs treat them as criminals and use punitive methods to prevent further crimes.