Impact of Developmental Theories on Crime Prevention Program Implementation

There are several criminological theories in play based on a variety of perspectives as to the causes of criminal behavior. For this assignment, I have chosen to address the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and how it coincides with Travis Hirschi’s Social Control Theory. Based on the elements in Hirschi’s Social Control Theory I will discuss how the Big Brothers Big Sisters program is beneficial in deterring the youths of today from participating in deviant behavior and becoming the criminals of tomorrow. To better the comprehension of their coexistence, I will first discuss the elements of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and the Social Control Theory individually and then combine their individual elements to explain how they can effectively work together to deter crime.

Routine activity theory states that for a crime to be committed, three important factors need to be present including: a motivated offender, an accessible target, and the absence of a capable guardian against a violation. Marcus Felson and Lawrence E. Cohen introduced the routine activity theory in 1979, where they believed that an individual who has these three characteristics gives them a greater possibility of committing a crime. Moreover, situational crime prevention is known as strategies of ways for preventing or reducing the opportunities for criminals to commit crimes that derive from the routines of an individual’s everyday life. Ronald V. Clarke introduced situational crime prevention theory in 1983, where he believed that removing the situation instead of removing the criminal could prevent crime. In this paper, I will be discussing what routine activity/situational crime prevention theory is, and apply two peer-reviewed articles from Google Scholar that test the routine activity/situational crime prevention theory by discussing what the authors are trying to figure out and discuss their findings, and lastly, tie the routine activity/situational crime prevention theory articles to our textbook in hopes to fully understand in depth what the theory encompasses.

How can theories help us to understand criminal behavior and to design strategies intended to control such behavior?

There are many theories in the field of criminology that seek to explain the reasons behind why people commit crimes. Social process theory is one such theory and asserts that criminal behavior is learned through interactions with others (Schmalleger, 2012). There are four types of social process theories including: social learning theory, social control theory, labeling theory, and dramaturgical perspective. This paper will explore two of the theories including social learning theory and social control theory. The paper will discuss social process theory and the history of its development, the theory’s importance to criminology, examples of

Ron Clark describes situational crime prevention as ‘a pre-emptive approach that relies, not on improving society or its institutions, but simple on reducing opportunities for crime’. He identifies three features of measures aimed at situational crime prevention, firstly that they

America’s answer for dealing with crime prevention is locking up adult offenders in correctional facilities with little rehabilitation for reentry into society. American response for crime prevention for juvenile’s offenders is the same strategy used against adult offenders taken juvenile offenders miles away from their environment and placed in adult like prisons.

It is guided by six principles. These include strengthening the family in its primary responsibilities to instill moral values and provide support and guidance to children, supporting core social institutions, such as schools, churches, and community organizations, to help develop capable, mature, and responsible minors, promoting crime prevention as the most cost-effective approach to reducing juvenile lawlessness, intervening immediately and effectively when delinquent behavior first emerges to prevent it from becoming worse, establishing a system of graduated sanctions that holds each juvenile offender accountable, protects public safety, and provides programs and services that meet treatment needs, and identifying and controlling the small percentage of serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders who commit the majority of felony

Crime can typically be removed from the social order most effectively through preventing it. People virtually need to understand that problems need to be stopped before they actually come to be problems. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program is an internationally recognized strategy meant to present young individuals with information regarding the wrongness of living a life dominated by drugs and violence. Individuals responsible for this program have obviously realized that illegal behavior is more likely to emerge when people live in antisocial environments. As a consequence, they devised this program with the purpose of turning children's attention away from crime. As long as the forces that prevent them from adopting

Comprehend the complex relationships among the legal, psychological and historical influences impacting the U.S. legal system

In modern America, a primary goal of the criminal justice system is to prevent crime as a means to protect and safeguard the rights of the general public. It is important to note that crime prevention consists of many objectives, including the deterrence and reduction of crime. Nowadays, a plethora of criminal justice agencies have worked to establish strategies, through the agency of public policy, to avert crime. Certainly, some tactics have proven to be more effective than others. In particular, early intervention is extremely efficient and effective in targeting distinct risk factors that may lead to felonious behavior. Therefore, the criminal justice system should principally operate through early intervention tactics because such programs

The psychological theories of criminal behavior focus on the lack of socialization, incomplete cognitive development, and bad childhood experiences. Those who study psychological theories believe that failures in cognitive development can be a major factor in malfunctioning behavior. These criminals have difficulty controlling anger and containing violence, which causes them to lash out. The results of these episodes are murder, rape, robbery, assault, and battery. Many more crimes can come about from such behavior, especially when the criminal falls into a negative cycle. Their behavior spirals out of their control, as they try to solve each of their crimes by committing another, to try and right the situation.

The Boston Model is a comprehensive policing strategy implemented by the Boston Police Department in an attempt to better protect and serve Boston’s youth, as well as the population as a whole (Boston Police Department [BPD], n.d.) The strategy consists of three major pillars: intervention, enforcement and prevention (BPD, n.d.). These methodologies are all believed to work together to confront what the Boston Police Department portrays as the growing problem of youth violence and crime. As Siegel and Welsh (2012) describe, youth who enter the juvenile justice system may face a range of challenges beyond just a criminal charge. The strategy outlined in the Boston model focuses on collaboration between agencies and divisions, likely as a sign

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).

There are three formal efforts to control crime that include retribution-deterrence, rehabilitation, and prevention. “Efforts by the police, courts, and other agencies to control crime need to be understood as part of society’s much larger system of social control” (Kornblum; Pg. 142). It is the job for the criminal justice officials to help prevent any crimes, so that society can be a peace. Retribution-deterrence is where someone is being punished for their crimes, so that they learn from their mistakes and hopefully never want to be punished again. Rehabilitation is where in criminal receive training or therapy in hopes of “curing” them of their wrongdoings. Prevention is used to help prevent criminals from committing any future crimes.

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