The Leading Practices in the Field of Community Crime Prevention - Essay Example

What are the leading practices in the field of community crime prevention? Introduction Crime is a threat to development and quality of life in any society. In order to avoid these issues, it is critical to devise and implement proper crime prevention strategies. Crime prevention may be divided into place, situation, and people-oriented strategies. Situation-oriented method is usually a combination of place and people-oriented modes. The people-oriented way is always referred to as crime prevention by social development (CPSD). Place-oriented strategy is also referred to as crime prevention by environmental design (CPTED). Therefore, a combination situational strategies, and place and people approaches form a whole and successful crime avoidance package (Kitchen & Schneider, 2007). Crime prevention by social development (CPSD) This involves lasting incorporated actions dealing with the main crime causes. Its major objective is to minimize the risk issues that lead people especially the youth and the children to engage in criminal activities and to create protective factors that might be helpful in mitigating the risks. These risk factors related to criminal involvement are associated with numerous other social issues, such as, child neglect and abuse, alcohol and drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, unemployment, and school failure. Thus, when people and firms engage in the prevention of crime, they are also working on making their communities safe, healthy, as well as sustainable in various respects (Sutton, Cherney &White, 2012). Studies indicate that specific experiences and conditions can determine if an individual gets involved in criminal activities. For instance, an inappropriate pre-natal care (such as bad diet, poor health, alcohol consumption) may result in low weight, fetal alcohol disease, and other states that that may influence a child’s mental and physical development. If children experience cognitive challenges and need nurturing and warm care in the initial years because they are very vulnerable to criminal conduct, as well as criminal activities (Mackey & Levan, 2013). In addition, Hirsch, Garland & Wakefield (2000) assert that CPSD intends to make people responsible, resilient, and healthy. In a liberal society, there will normally be temptations and opportunities to indulge in the wrong activities, such as, taking advantage of other people or situation for one’s own gain. Therefore, the approach intends to enhance community values regarding peacefulness and respect for other individuals and their belongings, and aids the young people so as to defy peer pressure and make sound decisions. This approach can take place in three stages. First, it can happen at the basic stage where prevention of crime entails common, population-based plans including healthcare and education (Lab, 2012). Secondly, it can happen at the secondary stage where crime prevention involves programs, which target people at greater risk for crime. Here, programs will entail youth people who are at risk of dropping out of school, as well as parenting sessions that are suitable for great-risk parents. Lastly, it can occur at tertiary stage, where crime prevention implies the supervision and rehabilitative programs for criminals in order to minimize re-offending (Kitchen & Schneider, 2007). Crime prevention by environmental design (CPTED) CPTED is a crime prevention plan that entails things and people, that is the built environment that may be either criminal activity targets or crime location. The correct design, successful use, and safeguarding of the built environment may result in the minimization of the fear and incidences of crime, and promotion of life quality. What is more, this approach is complimentary to and interconnected to CPSD methods as individuals live in the created environment and the environment affects the people’s behavior. CPTED is founded on the principle that more crime is contextual and opportunistic. Involuntarily, criminal behavior and nuisance may be enhanced by inappropriately designed and planned space, which leads to actual chances for crime, and a lot of fear (Mackey & Levan, 2013). According to Sutton, Cherney, & White (2013), the effective utilization o CPTED premises, terror of crime, crime and nuisance may be minimized. The use of these principles to modern developments impedes future issues; and employing CPTED improves problem-solving ability for the present developments. There are four main CPTED design principles that should be followed. To start with is the natural entrance control. This entails a design, which directs and affects people’s flow in order to naturally maximize surveillance and control, such as, a building’s interior and interior design, lighting, landscaping, and traffic calming (Kitchen & Schneider, 2007). The second principle is about the natural surveillance design, which is a design that maximizes visibility and ensures that legal users can monitor and observe surrounding activities in a casual or formal manner, such as, apartment or office windows with unhampered sightlines to parking space or any other crime-prone area (Sutton, Cherney, &White, 2012). The third principle is territoriality. This entails the physical environment’s design to expand the apparent sense of territory or influence. It is worth noting that individuals that take ownership of their environment make it hard for criminals to undertake their disorder or crime (Hirsch, Garland & Wakefield, 2000). Fourthly, there is a principle concerning maintenance of the created environment. This implies that the improvement, management, and maintenance of this environment motivate its users to respect it. For instance, this may happen through the removal of litter and graffiti, repairing an inoperative lighting, trimming overgrown hedges, and changing bad locks (Mackey & Levan, 2013). Situational Crime Prevention This approach looks at a specific circumstance in which individuals interact with others and their environment. It also intends to identify specifically risky combinations, as well as look for solutions that are particular to the situations. In this approach, some of the solutions could include enhancing the chances of be found out; minimizing the possible crime rewards; avoiding excuses of crime involvement; minimizing the temptations and provocations; and enhancing the effort needed in crime execution so as to make it less attractive (Sutton, Cherney & White, 2013). Notably, some of these solutions concern a blend of place and people-oriented approaches that overlie with prevention of crime by environmental design or social development. For instance, this approach may tackle issues relating to the intoxicated individuals that exit bars at time of closure, such as, impaired driving and fights. Some of these solutions comprise of educating bar patrons and staff as regards responsible drinking; setting regulations that address the size, number, and location of these drinking joints as well as the time of closure. They also include ensuring the police presence when closing them, as well as making public transport available (Hirsch, Garland & Wakefield, 2000). In order to address the issue of credit cards, security features should be increased on cards, business transactions that need verification of the card bearer, and bank procedures that quickly revoke the stolen cards. Besides, thieves’ profits should be limited, and the police action targeting credit card offenders should be implemented (Kitchen & Schneider, 2007). Community-based programs These programs involve those operating in the community and consists community locals who actively work with the local government authorities in order to tackle the problems that contribute to delinquency, crime, and disorder. The program encourages community members to participate in activities of identifying problems and planning for their solutions in the community. There is a great difference in community-based programs of preventing crime depending on the factors, which include program rationale, program focus, community context (such as, social and racial class in the community), as well as type and level of community participation. These programs operate through police, neighborhood residents, as well as faith-based groups (Lab, 2012). One of the community-based programs entails community policing. This strategy intends to promote and support plans aimed at addressing crime-associated problems by establishing partnerships between the community and the police. Another approach is the neighborhood watch, which is a strategy for mobilizing the community through enabling the citizen groups to arrange for the prevention and reporting of neighborhood disorder and crime (Mackey & Levan, 2013). Thirdly, comprehensive programs are also vital in crime prevention at the community level. For instance Weed and Seed and Comprehensive Communities are programs that enhance the participation of the state and local governments, neighborhoods, and private sector in responding to violent drugs and crime and promote communities’ quality of life through the integration of many approaches. Crime prevention through community-based programs also involves the use of ad hoc legal enforcement (Sutton, Cherney & White, 2013). Enhancement of criminal justice authorities’ capacity According to Kitchen & Schneider (2007), these agencies make a crucial contribution to the successful crime prevention approaches. Evidently, successful processes of criminal justice may lead to minimizations of the offending conduct. Police offer a powerful presence in many communities in Australia, which consist of a wide and highly skilled labor force. This also represents the link between the basic prevention and illegal justice system. These authorities may perform numerous significant activities relating to crime prevention as follows: They provide a visible presence in societies; deter by threat of prosecution and apprehension; they offer intelligence-based and practical policing of crime-prone areas; and provide diversionary plans that transform the individuals’ course outside the justice system, and into treatment (Lab, 2012). What is more, Crowe & Fennelly (2013), they also offer help necessary to plan, implement, and review the community-led associations with stakeholders. The authorities also implement problem-based policing approaches, usually engaging the police-driven associations with the stakeholders. Additionally, these agencies help in the dissemination of information relating to crime prevention and giving advice, as well as undertaking safety audits. Lastly, these justice authorities facilitate community policing plan that involve the community in developing and implementing the prevention approaches (Mackey & Levan, 2013). Imperatively, this necessitates the police to partner with various stakeholders, such as, non-governmental bodies, government community groups, and businesses, in order to identify domestic issues, and potential solutions, as well as create and implement suitable responses. In order to have successful criminal justice strategies, there are certain requirements. To begin with, there is need to adopt an whole approach that integrates evidence-based involvements at all phases of the illegal justice system and for the juvenile and adult offenders that include the police diversionary plans, court-based change, sessions for offenders who serve custodial and non-custodial fines, re-entry sessions and sustain prisoners’ post-release (Hirsch, Garland & Wakefield, 2000). Fennelly (2012) says that it is also necessary to develop focus on enhancing evidence-based plans’ delivery that are aimed at lifestyle and individual causal factors for reoffending, especially among the young people, both in community and custodial environment settings. Besides, there is need for programs that are delivered both before and after release aimed at the challenges experienced by offenders after their release for detention and issues inhibiting effective reincorporation to enhance their productive and active community inn community cohesiveness There is a greater risk of participating in crime or becoming victims in communities experiencing high intensities of social exclusion or absence of social cohesion. For instance, Australian experiences indicate how fast crime and social disorganization can establish to grave levels in normal societies, to the extent that becomes essential for authorities vital significant resources trying to reinstate order and economic feasibility. There also increasing recognition of the significance of handling social exclusion; that is inaccessibility to services, disadvantage and deprivation, as well as helping the disadvantage groups to minimize the risk of engaging in crime (Fennelly, 2012). Social exclusion consisting of limited education opportunities, unemployment, neighborhood disadvantage, poor health of children, and intergenerational disadvantage, and homelessness and wellbeing are vital risk issues for criminal conduct. Fear of crime and victimization may result in enhanced social exclusion and isolation. Social exclusion of susceptible persons based on factors including religion, culture, language and national origin in relevant area, especially given Australia’s important migrant population (Australian government, 2012). Nevertheless, in order to make it successful, the programs should identified needed founded on community and evidence consultation and examine factors, which can contribute to social exclusion or disadvantage. It should also consider a community’s ability to execute level and change of social disintegration. It is also crucial to encourage demonstration from different groups, especially those members of the community at risk of getting marginalized (Gottschalk, 2010). The programs should organize efforts between agencies in the government and non-governmental bodies to aim at many disadvantaged areas, aided by neighborhood restoration. Moreover, the programs should be provided with a continuous support that includes financial, physical, and human resources. They should also often review progress in order to ensure that their initiatives are on track (Sutton, Cherney &White, 2012). The local government may also deliver community development and crime prevention strategies that aim at offering significant infrastructure to satisfy the communities’ needs, and host various events to create sense of the community. The active involvement of civil society among these approaches is a critical factor in their effectiveness (Sutton, Cherney & White, 2013). Conclusion Without doubt, it is clear that there are a lot of criminal activities going on in the society. Such activities can seriously affect the development and quality of life in a society. Therefore, it is imperative for a society to consider and identify the most appropriate strategies in order to prevent crime in the community. Some of the effective strategies include crime prevention by social development; crime prevention by environmental design; situational strategies; enhancing ability of crime justice system; and community-based programs. References Australian government (2012). National crime prevention framework. Australian Institute of Criminology. Accessed on 14th February, 2014. http://www.aic.gov.au/crime_community/crimeprevention/ncpf.html Crowe, T. & Fennelly, L. (2013). Crime prevention through environmental design. Waltham, MA: Elsevier. Pp. 10-20. Fennelly, L. (2012). Handbook of loss prevention and crime prevention. Waltham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Pp.10-40. Gottschalk, P. (2010). White-collar crime: detection, prevention and strategy in business enterprises. Boca Raton: Universal Publishers. Pp. 13-50. Hirsch, A., Garland, D. & Wakefield, A. (2000). Ethical and social perspectives on situational crime prevention. Oxford: Hart. Pp. 10-30. Kitchen, T. & Schneider, R.H. (2007). Crime Prevention in the Built Environment. New York, NY: Routledge. Pp. 20-40. Lab, S.P. (2012). Crime Prevention: Approaches, Practices, and Evaluations. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Pp 20-40. Mackey, D. & Levan, K. (2013). Crime prevention. Burlington, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Pp. 14-30. Sutton, A., Cherney, A. & White, R. (2013). Crime Prevention. Cambridge Port Melbourne, Vic: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 30-50. Sutton, A. Cherney, A. &White, R. (2012). Crime Prevention: Principles, Perspective and Practices. New York, NY: Cambridge University. Pp. 12-28. Read More