Crimes, and Crime Reduction in the cities - Research Paper Example

Crimes and crime reduction in the cities Introduction Statistics from the FBI reports an increase in crimes in several large cities. The increase was especially noticed in 2009. The major crimes that are on the increase include property crime, burglary and robbery. Violent crime and murder as well as rape cases have been on the decline trend compared to how the statistics were in the previous years. In New York City for example, the 2014 crime statistics indicate an 85% drop in murder cases compared to the 90s where murder was the leading crime in the city (Wilson, 2015). There are several reasons associated with the increase and decrease in crimes in the cities and they will be described in detail below. The crime reduction strategies that have and are continuing to take place will also be discussed in detail. If these strategies on crime reduction can be followed strictly by these large cities especially, then crime rates can reduce drastically. Crime causes in major cities Major cities have very high population ranging from hundreds of thousands to close to a million people. The security in terms of policing is therefore less effective to manage and control all the people and monitor or survey each and every place. Criminals therefore take advantage of this opportunity to commit crimes. They are also less likely to be recognized, spotted or caught committing crimes and because of the large backlog of cases still being investigated, most property crimes, burglary or robbery cases are left uninvestigated. The lack of enough manpower to continue handling these cases leads to majority being left unsolved. The reason the murder and violent crimes have been on the decrease trend while the rest of the crimes have been increasing is the fact that the police departments in these cities have concentrated on them more. They have pressure from family members, friends and even the mayor to solve murder crimes and apprehend violent criminals. They therefore dedicate all their resources from financial to manpower to handling these cases hence leaving fewer police officers handling all the petty crimes. Criminals have therefore been taking advantage of this matter and committing more and pettier crimes. The petty crimes such as the burglary and robberies are left to younger and less experienced police officers hence dragging them for long without apprehending anyone or lacking investigative experience to seek evidence that is incriminating. In some cities such as Chicago which was for a long time recording high numbers of murder and violent crime cases and which has reduced tremendously since 2012, the reasons for the reduction can be attributed to improved community policing which has acted as a prevention strategy for violent crimes (Wilson, 2015). Violent crimes have also been said to be largely committed by gangs or a few organized criminals and especially the robbery with violence crimes. When the members of these gangs are apprehended and serving long sentences in prison, there are no more people to commit these crimes and hence reducing them considerably. Crimes such as drug related crimes and violence related to drug crimes have also been decreasing in some cities as a result of a crackdown on the drug lords and operatives and example being in San Antonio in Texas. Crime types in major cities The leading cities in the US in crimes include Detroit in Michigan, New Orleans in Louisiana, Newark in New Jersey, Queens in New York, St. Louis in Missouri, Baltimore in Maryland, Cincinnati in Ohio, Boston in Massachusetts, Oakland in California and Birmingham in Alabama among other major cities. The most reported crimes in these cities as well as other cities include, murder and manslaughter, motor vehicle theft, robbery, burglary, property crimes, violent crimes, drug-related crimes, aggravated assault as well as rape among other major and minor crimes (Zimring 27). Crime reduction strategies Unity of law enforcement agencies As a result of the large population in these cities, crime reduction cannot be left to be handled by the police force only. Team work is the only solution if these crimes are to reduce or even completely cease as there is strength in numbers. The city as mentioned above is large and has several law enforcement agencies located within them. There are the regular police force, municipal police, campus police located within the universities and major colleges, public school police, county sheriff and his department as well as park police. In addition, there are federal law enforcement officers in these major cities such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Criminal Investigation Agency (CIA) and Department of Homeland Security among other federal law enforcement departments in addition to private security firms (Hoover 226). If all these law enforcement agencies and security firm personnel unite and work together in a bid to end crime in their cities, then the criminals will be outnumbered. The many crimes going unsolved as a result of lack of evidence or enough manpower to tackle all the cases will be dealt with and hence will be a thing of the past. Community policing Community policing is where the community members act as the watchers and reporters of crime or suspicious activities to the police and assist them in handling criminal cases. Community members in cases where the police patrol is stretched thin which is almost everywhere in the city, start carrying out patrol themselves. Neighborhoods divide themselves and form watch teams which take turns to patrol their neighborhood at night when most crimes are being committed. In case of any suspicious activity or a real crime being committed, the community members on the patrol alert the police who then come to apprehend the criminals. In case the police are unavailable at the moment, they round up the rest of the neighbors and apprehend the criminals on their own and wait for the police once they have secured the criminals (Hoover 69). The impact this has is that it ensures that neighborhoods are safe which means the whole city will be safe. The people working together with police officers create a good rapport in the city making criminals be on the lookout and eventually stop the criminal activities or move top other places. The work of police officers is simplified and hence they are less overworked and get enough time to rest and are more objective rather than working constantly under burnouts. The community policing is the reason most cities such as Chicago has had their crime statistics decrease immensely over the last two years (Lab 22). Rehabilitation The petty crimes as they are commonly referred to are mostly being committed by teenagers. These include petty theft in malls, burglary on the streets as well as property theft. The crimes may be less violent but they are on the increase. Teenagers are forming their own gangs or joining already formed ones in the act of rebellion. They end up in juvenile while others go to prisons. These teenagers can be rehabilitated instead of being punished in the prison of juveniles. Rehabilitation centers can be setup where they are taught importance of being law abiding citizens, taught skills to occupy their lives with instead of engaging in crimes during their free time as well as be made to find reasons to want to succeed and obey. The rehabilitation programs can be carried out by a team of experts such as sociologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers as well as correctional officers and police officers (Lab 68). Once those involved in crime and criminal behavior realize there is more to their life and they can succeed in other ways, they will stop the criminal activities and even be ambassadors of others to end their criminal life and join in building the society for the future generation. The centers will go a long way into rebuilding a better society with more responsible young generation. Technology to prevent crime Technology has been evolving for the better the last few years and is therefore much more effective and fast. The evolution in technology can be used to fight as well as prevent crimes as one of the strategy. Technological devices to detect gunshots can be installed in the mist dangerous neighborhood within the city. These can be linked up to the nearest police stations and other law enforcement agencies and alert them. The police will be in the neighborhood within such a short time and apprehend the criminals, get them while still committing the crime as well as hopefully save the victims of the gunshots. With a reduction in response time, more criminals are likely to be caught. The devices will also scare away criminals from committing the act. Other technological devices that can assist in crime reduction include the CCTV cameras and motion sensors installed in streets, shops and even in private homes. They will assist in catching criminals and prevention of crimes as the criminals will be afraid of being digitally recorded and caught in the criminal act. Facial recognition software can also be used to aid in recognition of the criminals and the members of criminal gangs. They can aid in solving even crimes long forgotten or neglected. Conclusion In conclusion, the crimes being committed in the major cities as a result of the large population and less manpower resources of the police force can be reduced. With more teamwork from other law enforcement agencies and with the community, crime can be reduced to manageable levels. Work Cited Hoover, Larry. Police Crime Control Strategies. New York: Cengage Learning, 2013. Print. Lab, Steven. Crime Prevention: Approaches, Practices, and Evaluations. New Jersey: Routledge, 2013. Print. Wilson, Reid. In major cities, murder rates drop precipitously. The Washington Post, 2nd January, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/01/02/in-major-cities- murder-rates-drop-precipitously/ Zimring, Franklin. The Great American Crime Decline. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print. Read More