CRIME PREVENTION

Crime Prevention



Crime Prevention

Introduction

It is important to study the Impact of Educational and drug prevention programs, community policing, specific deterrence and rehabilitation on future of crime programs. This is the part which will be defined in this paper. There is no single definition for crime prevention. Different authors and studies offer varying definitions. Many early definitions actually used the term crime control either in place of crime prevention or within the definition. However, crime control alludes to maintenance of a given or existing level of crime and the management of that amount of crime behavior (Tilley, 2005). True crime prevention looks to do more than just maintain a certain level of crime or to manage offenders and crime. One of the very important consequences of crime that should be addressed in prevention initiatives is the fear of crime. While most definitions of crime prevention incorporate the ideas of lessening the actual levels of crime or limiting further increases in crime, few specifically deal with the problem of fear of crime and perceived crime and victimization.

Crime prevention actions are not restricted to the efforts of the criminal justice system. They include activities by individuals and groups, both public and private. Just as there are many causes of crime, there are many potentially valuable approaches to crime prevention. This entry examines crime prevention from a very broad perspective (Laycock, 2005). Included here is a discussion of the history of crime prevention, different crime prevention models, and major crime prevention approaches, as well as insight into the effectiveness of prevention activities.

Historical Background of the Crime Prevention Program

Crime prevention is not a new idea. Indeed, for as long as people have been victimized there have been attempts to protect one's self and one's family. The term crime prevention, however, has only recently come to signify a set of ideas for combating crime. Many people suggest that crime prevention today is new and unique, particularly in terms of citizen participation. In reality, many recent activities classified as crime prevention can be seen throughout history (Lab, 2007). “New” crime prevention ideas and techniques are often little more than reincarnations of past practices or extensions of basic approaches in the (distant) past. It is only in the relatively recent past that the general citizenry has not been the primary line of defense against crime and victimization.

The earliest responses to crime were left to the individual and his family. Retribution, revenge, and vengeance were the driving forces throughout early history. While such actions would serve to make the victim whole again, it also would eliminate the benefit gained by the offender. It was assumed that potential offenders would see little gain in an offense, thereby deterring the individual from taking action. The Code of Hammurabi (approximately 1900 BCE) outlined retribution by victims and/or their families as the accepted response to injurious behavior (Ekblom, 2005).

The individual, often voluntary, responsibility for crime prevention in England generally persisted until the establishment of the Metropolitan Police in ...