Impact of Educational and Drug Prevention Programs - Research Paper Example

Impact of Educational and Drug Prevention Programs, Community Policing, Specific Deterrence and Rehabilitation on Future of Crime Programs Introduction This article looks at the impact that Educational and Drug Prevention Programs have had on the intended recipients and how they have been of aid to the affected communities. It explains the meaning and importance of Community Policing and the factors surrounding it and the role of specific deterrence in the rehabilitation process of an individual. Educational and drug prevention programs are meant to counter the influences that come with drug use be it from the media or the basic social settings of communities. The aim is to minimize and possibly annihilate the risk factors and promote protective factors. The risk factors are by definition the likelihood for one to abuse drugs (NCPC). Community policing on the other hand is the partnership of civilians with the law enforcers to curb criminal activities. In this endeavor, the civilians are key players in ensuring that the law is followed and play as allies of the police. This happens at the most basic neighborhoods and is therefore at a small scale (Bureau of Justice Assistance, 1994). The Deterrence Theory brings forward the notion that human beings abide by the law because of the fear of prosecution for failure to adhere. This brings about the matter of Specific Deterrence which refers to a crime prevention technique which operates on instilling fear on the individual receiving punishment (Wright, 2010). Educational and Drug Prevention Programs The Narconon program from 1966 to the present day has played a role in getting people off drugs and it has centers in averagely 45 countries worldwide. The Narconon drug prevention and education curriculum intends to bring forth more risk factors than benefits of using drugs to young people. The purpose of this is to provoke a certain line of reason that the youth are intended to capture. Keeping in mind that among the uses of drugs there is the beneficial aspect like fitting in with a popular crowd or overcoming shyness. This program means to provide an alternative that will effectively counter the drugs (Tonry, 2008). The Narconon drug prevention staff can boast of educating an aggregate of 5 million school going children on this issue. Their program encompasses audio visual features and several segments of live presentations. This program is active with each week being dedicated to performing various drug prevention undertakings (Tonry, 2008). In their rehab program, the persons emerge with skills that enable them to tell apart between an individual who can be trusted and one that is to be steered clear off. The patients are therefore able to choose company that will keep them off drugs after recovery. They are also educated on problem solving to help them cope with the frustrations that are a part of life, this way they can maintain their integrity. In the final outcome, the individuals are able to live productive lives. Community Policing This is a philosophy that encompasses problem-solving skills and being proactive in public safety matters. The aim of the philosophy is to stop crime before it actually happens. The police are therefore treated like they are part of the neighborhood. This works to help the law enforcers get a better sense of what the people require and the people develop greater confidence in them. With the changing times, the social environment is not what it was several decades ago with the increase in gang related crime and drug related crime, the social fabric has depreciated rapidly. A unified stand to combat crime is therefor in order. Over time, the ties between the community and the police are strengthened. The community therefore acts as a resource to the police and the presence of the latter reduces fear of crime in the residential areas. The absence of reliable ties to the civilians, the police have limited knowledge on existing problems and the fact that the stations are in isolation to the public fails to help the case (Bureau of Justice Assistance, 1994). When trust has been established, the members of the society are more forthcoming with information regarding crime. Foot patrols have also proven to be effective in minimizing fear of crime because the people see a face they can relate with. This however, proves to be a major hurdle in areas where these relationships are strained. Since trust develops over time, in such areas it will be a long time before the police are viewed as part of the community; the police need to serve and protect rather than be the marks of hostility (Bureau of Justice Assistance, 1994). In a bid to guarantee continued involvement, assessment procedures are set up. These procedures are set to evaluate the effectiveness of the whole process and aid in documenting progress made. Specific Deterrence and Rehabilitation In the assessment of rigorousness versus certainty of punishment it is discovered that the level of incarceration has gone up over the years and the United States has recorded the highest numbers. This is attributed to formulation of more punitive laws and strict sentencing policies (Wright, 2010). Sentencing has a purpose and one that has developed over the years is improving the deterrence of the criminal justice system. As a result, more sentencing policies have been enforced taking the example of the 3 strikes policy and mandatory minimums, all of which have been designed to set a foundation for felony sentences. It is the certainty of prosecution for a crime committed than the severity of the punishment that is more deterrent. Therefore the probability of conviction should outweigh the severity of penalty for effectiveness (Kirk, et al. 1980). For those who have already been apprehended, specific deterrence for example in the case of drunk driving applies. Longer sentences for individual offenders would deter them from repeatedly committing the same crimes they were convicted for. This requires a proper record keeping system which will assist in increasing the severity of punishment for chronic offenders. For a deterrence policy to be effective, potential offenders have to know the magnitude of the penalty they are to face if a crime is committed. The consequences are in the form of sanction possibilities. Since ignorance of the particulars of sentencing policies among the public is very high, awareness of matters of the law and convicting policies should be made a priority (Rozenfeld, 2014). Parole is a utilitarian control mechanism designed to appraise inmate conformity with early release and punish rebelliousness with continued detention. The inmates make parole hearings their goal while in confinement. As a result, there are lower degrees of post-review misdemeanors for those who are denied parole hearings in comparison to those who get the green light; deterrence is therefore higher in those who fail to get parole hearings and misdemeanor cases reduce for the lawbreakers granted parole hearings (Kirk, et al. 1980). Conclusion The sort of punishment offered to lawbreakers is to a certain level, retribution for the harm that one’s misdeeds have harmed the society or a particular individual. The sentence given is hoped to even the scales for whatever crimes the offender committed. The unpleasantness that the criminal undergoes is the retribution. Through this process, it is expected that the convict will be rehabilitated. This is the improvement that was intended in the conviction. The pleasantness of the stay in confinement is not put to test because another role of sentencing is to protect the public and this is done by keeping the offender in confinement. The unpleasantness provides the element of threat to the lawbreaker and may aid in deterrence (Rozenfeld, 2014). The modern world is technological and as a result, surveillance equipment like cameras and smartphones aid in evidence collection and instilling the fear of crime to possible offenders. Biometric sensors that allow for fingerprint scanning are a stride in record keeping which is a development in specific deterrence (Rozenfeld, 2014). References NCPC. School Based Drug Abuse Prevention, National Crime Prevention Center (NCPC). Canada. Retrieved from, http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/NCPC Bureau of Justice Assistance, (1994). Understanding Community Policing; A Framework for Action, Bureau of Justice Assistance. Wright, V. (2010). Deterrence in Criminal Justice. Drug Prevention, Drug Education Programs, Retrieved from, http://www/narconon.org/drug-prevention/ Tonry, M. (2008). Learning from the Limitations of Deterrence Research in Crime and Justice, The University of Chicago Press, Kirk, R. et al. (1980). Public Knowledge of Statutory Penalties: The Extent and Basis of Accurate Perception, Pacific Sociological Review, vol. 23(1). Rozenfeld, M. (2014). The Future of Crime Prevention, Retrieved from, http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/technology-focus/technology-topic/the-future-of-crime-prevention Read More