Crime Prevention Concepts and Theory, Such as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (Cpted) and Other Such Preventative Programs.

Defining the crime problem is a vital step in controlling crime. Crime is undoubtedly a significant and pricey societal problem but we cannot target the problem without first defining it. There is no one identical solution to crime, instead it is based on a piece by piece basis. Strategies to target crimes need to target larger geographical areas, sometimes entire states. In addition, for a strategy to be successful in controlling a crime it cannot be too vague or extremely specific to an index crime. An example of a crime a law should target is: drug sales in a problem neighborhood or rapes at a city park. –Chapter 1 Page

In crime, there are two types of prevention, Situational and Social crime prevention. Situational crime prevention makes it harder for people to commit crimes without being caught. Situational strategies of crime prevention may include CCTV cameras which are great for proving that a person committed the crime but do not stop the crime completely. Soial crime prevention strategies include putting children into schooling to prevent them from living on the street and committing

Situational and social approaches to crime prevention are both proactive where they anticipate and prevent crime but are different in the way on how crime is prevented, each having their own strength and weaknesses. In this essay, I will briefly talk about what is crime prevention and how situational and social approaches are derived, followed by providing a critical comparison of situational and social approaches by first explaining what is situational and social approaches to crime prevention, the differences between the two approaches, their strength and weaknesses and lastly, to show understanding that besides situational and social approach, there are other approaches to crime prevention.

The SAGE dictionary of criminology- “Crime is not a self-evident and unitary concept. Its constitution is diverse, historically relative and continually contested. As a result an answer to the question ‘what is crime?’ depends upon which of its multiple constitutive elements is emphasized. This in turn depends upon the theoretical position taken by those defining crime”.

So as to realize this high function, the crime control model calls for the idea that primary consideration be accorded to the effectiveness with which the criminal procedure functions to screen wrong doers, establish culpability and secure suitable outlook or character of individuals found guilty of criminal offences. For the crime control model, permissible measures must not precede, sustenance for the police, nor

CPTED stands for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. The idea behind CPTED is that effectively using the environment can drastically reduce the act and fear of crime leading to an overall better quality of life. The four principles of CPTED are natural surveillance, natural access control, territorial reinforcement, and maintenance and management (Tan, Cheong, p.4). Breaking down each one of these principles is very important. Natural surveillance is based on the idea that criminals do not want to be watched. The main goal of natural surveillance is to watch intruders. “Natural surveillance can be achieved by a number of techniques. The flow of activities can be channeled to put more people (observers) near a potential crime area” (Tan, Cheong, p. 4). The next principle to break down is natural access control. Natural access control is used by relying on physical elements to keep unauthorized people out of a certain dwelling. Third, territorial

The central idea of the book focuses on practical ideas and specific crime problems and what to do about each. Although this book covers various topics, I am going to discuss the big crime problems and how to reduce each crime problem.

CRIMINOLOGYDoes drug use cause crime, does crime cause drug use or is the relationship entirely co-incidental?INTRODUCTIONIn this paper I will look at the amount and type of crime caused by drugs, the relationship between drugs and crime and the relationship between alcohol and crime.

After reading the assigned chapters and viewing the videos, discuss in your essay why “legalistic” definition of crime is not sufficient to cover all criminal activities:

Crime is a social construct created by society to punish those who did something against the socially acceptable norms, created by the people. The author finds the concept of crime a result of societal creation to punish those who go against their beliefs, and against the laws.

The word “crime” means an illegal action that is prohibited by law or a breakage of certain

Situational crime prevention constitutes primary crime prevention measure. This is to say that it is aimed at deterring crime before it occurs. Situational prevention, like other similar primary prevention measures, focuses on subduing crime opportunities instead of the attributes of criminals or even potential criminals. It seeks to curtail opportunities for certain groups of crime by increasing the risks and difficulties associated with them and significantly reducing the rewards. Situational prevention is made up of three key elements: a sound theoretical framework, an authoritative methodology for dealing with specific crimes, and a collection of opportunity-reducing approaches (Felson & Clarke, 1997).

CTPED or Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design is defined as “The prevention strategy which outlines how the physical environments can be designed in order to lessen the opportunity for crime.” (Queensland Police Department.) CPTED not only is defined by this definition, but it focuses on four more characteristics that help to make this design work effectively, and smoothly. These four characteristics are: maximizing the risk that offenders face, maximizing the effort required by offenders to commit crimes, minimizing the benefits that offenders can gain from committing crimes, and finally minimizing the excuses for opportunities toward offenders. COP is defined as “Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues, such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.” (Community Policing Defined." Community Policing Dispatch). CPTED and COP are methods that promote strong communities to deter crime, and provide the community with alternatives to stop crime from ever happening in the first place. As well as these definitions, the strategies of COP, and CPTED, these strategies are based off of the broken windows theory. The broken windows theory is the theory that states once criminals see an area that is under-patrolled, they will commit more crimes

The focus of this paper will be based upon different crime prevention strategies implemented by members of the communities, local and government authorities.

This essay will attempt to grasp the concept of ‘What Is Crime’ using sources available from various locations, such as books and journals.