Free Midterm Exam: Principles Of Crime Prevention Essay Sample

Introduction

Crime prevention involves activities that focus on preventing occurrence of crimes and all types of offenses. These activities include those focused on addressing any underlying fears of crime. George Kelling, in Principles of Crime Prevention, identifies the various principles that leaders, private sector, and the criminal justice organizations can formulate and successfully use them in local prevention of crime. Out of the thirteen principles he identifies in his book, I have picked four of them that I feel can be very effective in deterring crime occurrence.
The first principle I have selected is Principle 3. The underlying thing in this principle is the necessity to build partnerships in the crime prevention (Keling, 2009). Crime deterrence cannot be won by a single entity. Multi-sectorial cooperation is necessary for any meaningful work in preventing crimes. Mostly, crime target members of a society and this calls for the participation of the entire society in preventing the occurrence of crimes. Kelling proposes that the magnitude of the crime does not matter, but community resources can be mobilized and efficiently used in crime deterrence. The possible partners in crime prevention circuit should include parole and probation departments, city and district attorneys, neighborhood organizations, business entities, and other governmental agencies. Crime prevention singlehandedly can lead to absolute failure. The partners brought on board each has a significant role to play. The city and district attorneys are crucial in the prosecution of offenders and the analysis of the laws that spell out what constitutes a crime. Neighborhood organizations are vital in educating the residents the essence of staying free from crimes. Moreover, these organizations provide counseling services to crime offenders after they have completed their jail terms to ensure that they do not transform into repeat offenders.
Business entities, governmental organizations, and other private agencies would play a crucial role in providing resources necessary for crime prevention. In addition to this, the probation officers will come in handy in corroborating crime suspects and gleaning a lot of information from them (Sutton and White, 2013). The information can include the nature of crimes they engage in, the people they cooperate with, the kind of arms they use in committing crimes, and their source of weapons. If all this information is acted upon accordingly by the police and other criminal justice organizations, then vast networks of crimes will be dispelled and illegal firearms recovered and confiscated. This principle is among my top choice because it focuses on building teams that can cooperate effectively in deterring crime. Each and every partner brings their knowledge, expertise and recourses in an effort to tackle the complex issue of crime prevention. Partnership adds a new perspective on the crime prevention activities; it avails numerous amounts of resources, both material, and human, in the crime deterrence. The war of crime prevention can only be won if the police act in a moral manner. Cutting corners by the police in the crime prevention only serves to exacerbate the crime problem. Police should carry out their activities in a legal manner to ensure protection of rights of crime- or would be offenders. In preventing crime, the underlying thing is the protection and maintenance of the laws and regulations (Burrows, 1998).
The second principle that has depth and will cover a lot of ground in preventing the occurrence of crimes is Principle 4. The content of the principle is that crime prevention should be done in a right manner- both legally and morally (Kelling, 2009). The aim to reduce crimes should be pursued in a transparent and legal manner. This cannot be done by breaking the same laws and regulations the police should be defending. Essentially, in the prevention of criminal activities, the law enforcement agencies must first of all lead by example; by abiding by the same laws. The various activities police engage in during the course of crime prevention encompass serving warrants, managing citizens on the streets who are emotionally disturbed and mobilizing people and resources to deal effectively with gangs. In these activities, the police require the support of the community. This support can only be provided if they carry themselves in morally upright manner and remain accountable for their actions. The clamor to prevent the occurrence of crimes in a legal and moral manner leads to the unraveling of crime networks, dismantling of these networks and effectively integrating former offenders back into the community. By maintaining a high moral ground, the police put themselves in good stead to get support from many quarters after they realize that they are on an activity that will yield immense dividends to the community. Moreover, by acting in moral and legal manner, it builds trust in the police enabling the would-be crime offenders to confide in them and share with them the circumstances that push them into crime. This doing right, for it to be successful, should be coupled with other government arms doing their jobs effectively. Doing it right, essentially, means each institution involved in crime prevention carrying out their specific roles effectively without delegating the same to other institutions. This principle is among my top choices because it proposes that each institution plays its specific role of deterring occurrence of crime in a legal and moral manner. The full participation of each concerned institutions ensures coordination in the crime prevention function.
The third principle that according to me is well suited for reducing crime is Principle 11.The principle states that the process of crime prevention should be transparent (Kelling, 2009). The crime prevention process should be subjected to the scrutiny of the public. This can be achieved by keeping details of investigations confidential, but at the same time letting the public get access to the overall tactics and policies (Sutton and White, 2013). The contribution of the public in crime prevention cannot be underestimated. The availing information regarding tactics and policies used in criminal investigations, has the potential of alerting citizens to their responsibilities. Moreover, the information enables citizens to identify the various contributions of other institutions and interested parties in deterring occurrence of crimes. In addition to the above, the information availed can serve as a deterrence to those hell-bent on committing crimes. This principle can be extremely effective because it brings the entire community into the fold of crime prevention. Crime occurs within communities thus it is logical that its prevention is tackled from within the same communities. Moreover, by providing information on crime investigation to the public, the contribution of each institution is laid bare. The institutions will be intensely illuminated hence necessitating that they upscale or step up their activities towards preventing occurrence of crimes. This information provided enables the citizens to take up active roles in crime prevention. These roles may include informing the law enforcement agencies of an existence of crime cells within the community, reporting to agencies of illegal firearms acquisition, and a hoard of other roles. This active participation by citizens in crime prevention can enable busting of crime cells, interrogating those on the verge of engaging in crime and dismantling criminal networks before they engage in atrocious crimes. The principle is one of my top choices because its inclination towards a transparent process of crime prevention. By making the overall policies and tactics used in the investigation available to the citizens, the law enforcement agencies ensures that the people who are in constant touch with criminals contribute to their reclamation from criminal activities. This essentially widens the scope of crime prevention to include the ordinary mortals. Moreover, by pushing for transparency in the entire process, an assurance of protecting the rights of crime offenders is made certain.
The final principle I have chosen as one of the principles that can effectively apply in crime prevention is Principle 13. The principle proposes that the capacity of police organizations should be ramped up to deter of occurrence of crime (Kelling, 2009). The principle spells out the five tenets that should guide ramping up of police capacity. The first tenet proposes increasing police presence in areas that often experience crime since crime patterns do not assume a random nature. This will lead to nabbing of repeat offenders more easily. The second tenet proposes continuous maintenance of relationships between the citizens and the police in a single locality. The third tenet is the recognition of the important information that patrol police officers gather during the preliminary stage of investigations. The fourth tenet is reconsidering of the function of the detective in unraveling crime patterns and characteristics. There is immense potential for the patrol officers to use information gathered by detectives in preventing future instances of crime. The work of investigators should be in-depth to ensure that the current crime is resolved amicably and that future crimes are prevented from occurring. The information gathered by detectives should be shared with patrol officers who can effectively use it for preventive purposes. The fifth tenet of this principle is the necessity to involve patrol officers in the analysis of problems and crime and the development of the solution to the problem or crime. Patrol officers are normally the ones who provide solutions because they embody immense capability to enormously contribute to the overall police strategy and specific details.
This principle is one of my top choices and well-suited to reduce crime because it is extensive in its applicability. Crime prevention can only be actualized if police organizations have clout to do so. The various tenets proposed in this principle have potential to ramp up police organizations. The first two tenets prescribe heightened police presence as a necessity for crime prevention. Moreover, the principle brings to the fore the underutilized potential of patrol police officers in the prevention of occurrence of crimes. All along, their importance had been pushed to the back burner, leading to the underutilization of their skills in the crime prevention functions. The author notes that the patrol officers have great capability to prevent future occurrence of crimes. This principle lays down the cooperation among the various police officers that can be fruitful in preventing occurrence of crimes.

References

Burrows, J. (1988). Retail crime: prevention through crime analysis (Vol. 11). Home Office.
Keeling, G. L. (2009). Principles of Crime Prevention. Cities on a Hall
Sutton, A., Cherney, A., & White, R. (2013). Crime prevention: principles, perspectives and practices. Cambridge University Press.