Crime prevention

Community

Community is a group of people who are living together and are under the same set of laws or ethics or rules and regulations. They all have equal and identical privileges and rights. They all reside in the same environment with identical interests. It’s the general public.

Community crime prevention

Community crime prevention is the inventiveness or guiding principles which the society comes up with so as to eradicate the cumulative level of persecution. This also involves the eradication of person being involved in a criminal activity. These are programs which have been laid down by the community and the government so as to eliminate the crime activities and the victimization as well as the alteration of the mind set of individuals. It is through the community crime prevention that the society at large is able to identify the best strategies which can be used to prevent crime and the rates of victimization. This involves the encouragement of the members of the community to participate in the formulation of the crime prevention program and also in ensuring that the community at large is able to coordinate in reducing the occurrence of the crime (Siegel, 2008).

Community safety

This is a term which currently widely used by the police officers, politicians members of the public among others who are interested in reducing crime rates at the community level. This involves the utilization of the physical and the social actions which ensures that the people’s demands are met first with respect to their safety. This encompasses prevention of instances of crime from arising and the any manner of disorderliness. The community safety varies so much as and when it arises in the community with it shifting so as to fit the particular situation being faced.

Strategies and theories on crime prevention

There is the social and communal strategies which have been further explained using theories which fully fit to its way of operation in crime prevention. Social disorganization theory has been used to explain to mean the appropriate regulation of social behavior. This is in an acceptable way of conduct as per the set norms through all the levels of the community.

The social disorganization in a community arises due to the fact that there is any unaccepted way of conduct which prompts an individual to react in a normal way to such abnormal situations. Crime prevention here is done through the empowerment of the members of the community, and ensuring that there are adequate developments besides the administration of justice appropriately to all the community members. There is also the Social control theory and social support which upholds the common values of the community towards crime prevention (Charlton & Karam, 2003).

Situational and environmental strategies have been explained by theories such as opportunity reduction models. It has explained that the main cause of crime is the surrounding of people which is favorable to the execution of crime. There is the routine activity and the rational choice which are the main theories which are used in describing the opportunity reduction model. Crime prevention through the rational choice theory is to increase the chances of detecting cases of crime. Crime prevention through the routine activity involves the implementations of situations which minimizes the availability of the favorable targets and to increase the number of crime guards.

Situational and environmental strategies are used at the time when the crime rates have escalated so as to bring them down while the social and communal strategies are applicable at any time as the occurrence is not speculated but rather spontaneous to an abnormal action. The two strategies are relevant and worthwhile in crime prevention but situational and environmental strategies are highly treasured in crime prevention.

References

Charlton, S. & Karam, A. (2003). Crime prevention strategies. Johannesburg: SaferAfrica

Siegel, L. J. (2008). Criminology. 10th ed. New York: Cengage Learning