Running Head: ORGANISATION THAT CAN PROVIDE CRIME DETERRENCE PROGRAMS FOR THEIR COMMUNITY
Organizations that can provide crime deterrence programs for their community
Organizations that can provide crime deterrence programs for their community
Literature Review
According to the National Crime Prevention Institute crime prevention is defined as the anticipation, recognition and appraisal of a crime and taking the necessary initiative to eliminate or reduce it. It is also known as crime risk management which is more understandable in operational programs that are undertaken to evade, minimize, transfer or accept risks. The identification and assessment of a risk in reference to its probability of occurrence and level of severance is consequently followed by how to manage it. Deterrence is the use of the criminal offender as an example to the community with the major aim of making other prospective offenders to not repeat the same offence again. The deterrence theory is explained on the basis that if the effects or impact of committing a crime is much bigger than the advantage of committing the crime, the individual will be deterred from committing the crime again. This theory is based on the principle that people are aware of the contrast between what is right and wrong and the impact that it may accrue (Summerfield, 2011). The criminal activities that they perform are done from their own desire after observing the consequences of what they would do.
Following the incidences that occurred in the community at WBYL it became necessary that safety of the children be taken into consideration. It becomes apparent that the community can also play a role to preventing crime as well as deterring it. The children at WBYL are the most vulnerable members of the society in addition to the staff members. The community had therefore incorporated measures or mechanisms that would deter crime; violence, prostitution, and drug dealers among others.
Most deterrence programs are based on the belief that the society or community is able to reduce crime by taking action that will complicate things for the criminal to perform his or her criminal activity. This is done through the development of punishments that will be quite intense to the extent that the criminal will not commit the crime again. Jeremy Bentham presents that people will always assess the benefits and the possible detriments and would always choose the latter. Cesare Beccaria added his voice in his “On Crime and Punishment” to this by stating that pleasure is always desirable and most chosen option by people while trying to evade the negatives.
The most prominent deterrence program is capital punishment, ultimate form of punishment. In the past periods, the death factor was the most common form of punishment. However with growth in time, research suggested that the fear of punishment by the public led to the reduction of the death penalty. The initial support for the death penalty was more based on revenge rather than a measure of deterring crime.
The steps taken to deter crime will be more reliant on the pain administered as punishment for the crime must be directly related to the crime committed. Beccaria adds that the surety and the speed of punishment is quite important when compared to severity of the punishment administered hence making the aim of the punishment to be the prevention of the crime. General deterrence is reliant on the belief that the action taken by the public would definitely reduce crime in the general community (Papers, 2011). The attribution to punishment that is related to crime will instill fear in people to not commit the crime again. When there is little belief of being caught people will not fear committing the crime hence not obeying the law. The consequent belief of being apprehended will certainly deter crime and reduce it to a possible minimum in the community. On the other hand, specific deterrence is based on specific crimes. When people realize the effect of committing crime for specific crime is high they are hence deterred from committing crime form such crimes and hence its reduction.
The strategies applied to deter crime in the community are vital as a basic human need. According to Abraham Maslow’s safety is a necessary consideration that comes second to survival. A good security system preserves that ability of the individual person in the community to live free from harm, fear or disruption. The crime deterrence programs work towards reducing the opportunity of crime rather than inhibiting the need to commit a crime. No sense of motivating the criminal is included in the deterrence program.
Computing policing activities or programs establish relationships between the law enforcers and the community. The main aim is to solve the community’s problems that promote crime. The partnership once established targets are identifying the problems, altering the environment by the police so that the community does not succumb to the risks and deter the crime. The larger role is played in the prevention of the crime that involves; better locks, good lighting system, installing trackers in properties, being watchful and steps taken if one is victim to the crime (Sherman, 2002).The communities, who are the main victims, are able to reduce criminal practices by understanding the manner in which the criminals attack and consequently taking the necessary steps to protect against them. Taking steps to advice and convince the community to prevent themselves from crime is the main aim of the crime deterrence program. The community can be you neighboring residents, the tenants in the shopping center, school going children or employees. The crime deterrence programs in certain cases work with other organizations established in many other communities.
Deterrence programs at WBYL would do much to scare away law offenders in the community so as to provide a safe environment to the children, staff and the community as a whole. Each and every person has to play a role if this program is to succeed. Training programs would do much to improve the education of the inexperienced staff on security prevention. The problem of less staff at WBYL can be supplemented by the other community members similarly playing a role in the crime deterrence program.
The community leaders play a vital role in this, as they assume the central role in the punishment programs to offenders (CPN, 1996). It is them that are tasked with issuing the possible sentences to the offenders; they are, drug and alcohol treatment and restitution performed to victims. The sentences or healing programs at WBYL gave the misled youths a chance to take responsibility what they did; this was made applicable by the elder persons of the community offering them spiritual as well as cultural guidance. The youth are hence able to see their mistakes and given a chance at correcting their mistakes. They are given time to bond, reconcile and create strong family ties. The staff members are established as the role models of the community.
In the identification of the members to be termed to as “community corrections” that compose punishment such as boot camps, work release program involved in the community policing program can be done by anybody at any time (Linda S. Miller, 2007). There are other persons, who work in these organizations who are aimed at providing programs that would help the community members to protect themselves, are involved in steps to inform them that opportunities that criminals get arise out of their carelessness; loosely locked doors and windows, few locking devices among others. The crime specialists working in these organizations possess good communication skills as well as practical experience; they are students who have undergone learning in criminology, community crime trends and their interventions (SANS, 2003). Playing part in the community watch program needs little time to be spared, it though requires one to become more observant of the surrounding and create more communications with ones neighbors as well as the local law enforcers. The involvement of every member of the society would play an important role in the attempt to minimize crime in the community resulting to a safer neighborhood. Being in possession of a signage that shows the availability of a community watch program, “Block Watch” or other programs adds on to the deterrence steps as well as increasing the effectiveness of the process.
The WBYL incorporated the use of security cameras that were placed in several places in the community. The cameras had people who were in constant watch of any suspicious activity. In case of any suspicious activity, the staff members were to call the law offenders who were to then arrest the criminals. However, the arrests of the aborigines were a case of mistaken identity or call it racial intimidation. If the community worked hand in hand with the law enforcers; like knowing who your neighbour is and notifying the police in case of strange characters in the community. This is a case of the police not working together with the community to deter away criminals.
Crime Free Multihousing is another form of crime prevention program in the community. It applies the neighborhood watch technique within Multihousing facilities. The Crime Free Multihousing in its operations uses the resources of the local law enforcers, property owners and the citizens of the community. It is composed of managing the training of the community members in how to deter illegal activity, it also assess the local security and also trains the community in how to handle crime (development, 2010-2011).Adding on to the community watch programs, there are security arrangements that are put in place. It entails private security that works hand in hand with the local citizens. It may be done in varied forms like contracting the local security agents to patrol the community. The assessment of crime requires the effective and efficient utilization of resources.
This process however does not go without challenges; the community does not work in good coherence with the local security. The community programs are more so relate to criminology, policing and outreach programs. The identity that they possess does not lie with the physical form of security that the local security forces are oriented to. The people involved in the community organization programs are mostly volunteers with less concern being laid on their ages. The elderly are more or less involved in issuing out steps or manner to do the protection operations. They are similarly not left out in the personal security measures as they too are supposed to play a role in keeping the doors and windows shut.
Deterrence also composes the changing of the perception of the crime offenders that is related to the cost and benefit of the community that is more due to the experience they have experienced as result of the punishment received. According to deterrence theorists, the exposure of a criminal to punishment certainly does much to increase the offender’s perception of the risks incurred for performing future criminal related activities as well as deterring them (lancaster). When the community players raise issues concerning a suspicion they have had, it should be addressed. The sole focus on detection and deterrence without addressing the problems posed it will be tantamount to failure.
Most of the sanctions and correctional steps taken up by the community are also called intermediate sanctions or alternative punishment (Leanne Fiftal Alarid, 2010). The community has established community restraints mechanism that enables the community based organization to increase the surveillance and manage the number of offenders in the community. They attempt to incapacitate the offenders to commit crime, instances of these incapacitation programs in the community are; intensive supervision, here men and women volunteer with the main aim to make a difference in their communities. They are involved in patrolling he neighborhood deterring offenders from committing crime by increasing the number of eyes and ears. The volunteers may be in groups of two or three who report any case that seems suspicious to them to the local police, an example of such a program is the Citizens On Patrol that co relate with the Citizens Committee. There is also house arrest, electronic monitoring and half way houses. These are all pretrial supervision measures that all aimed keeping the community safe as they await court appearances.
The citizen patrol projects are directed at sorting out certain problems like crack houses and drug selling. While on the other hand, some are designed to prevent crime and establish a secure neighborhood. Such patrols may be situated on specific buildings or tenement houses. The most renowned successful patrols are associated with big communities that have a good and working relationship with the local law enforcement agencies. Such organizations in other instances when not engaging in any crime prevention activities are usually engaged in other development activities like cleaning and repair work. The most renowned citizen patrol is Guardian Angels, whose aim is to deter crime while at the same time presenting a good role model for the young generation
A common neighborhood watch anti-crime program is a popular is another program that helps the law enforcers in the community by providing additional eyes and ears. This is helpful in the sense that the law enforcers are not able to be everywhere all the time. The citizens are hence involved in educating the community to be on the lookout. Such programs however have the positives and negatives; some members of the community may object to the process and become a liability to the whole program while other keen community players trying to form groups to keep the community safe may be termed to as vigilantes hence not accepted. It involves training that entails visits by the police officers, writing materials and spreading to all of the members of the community, inspecting the various homes in the community so as to notice the vulnerable areas likely to be hit, buying of devices; repairing destroyed ones and replacing devices that enhance communal security in the various homes. It also involves the organization of neighborhood checks in case one is not in the house or has travelled; this may involve telling the neighbour of any person who is supposed to repair something that may come, say may be the plumber.
The community organization programs are involved in this and many other activities; putting in place a neighborhood telephone that would be easy to reach to report any activity that is suspicious; creation of a sign that is itself a deterrent to offenders; the signs are posted throughout the community neighborhood warning offenders of the presence of the community organization. The calling of meetings; in the meetings the neighbors are able to know each other. They are able to get education and training relating to crime prevention from the law enforcers as well as to how to contact the police in case of any suspicious activity. In addition to the probations, and house arrests among others, there is the Intensive Supervised Probation program whose main aim is to provide an elevated restraint on persons committing crime in the community (Davies, 2007). Most reports present an increased contact between the offenders and the parole agents.
The citizen crime reporting programs are tasked with organizing the community as mutual aid society and as well as assist to the law enforcers. The neighborhood watch program acts as a backbone to the community crime prevention strategies. Safe houses are provided to children and the elderly once in the occurrence of crime, for instance the incidence that occurred at WBYL; the children were taken to safe houses to prevent them from any crime that would affect them. Other programs are aimed at enhancing the ability to report crime. Some programs provide the community with whistles which they blow if once they notice crime. Whistle Stop programs are the present day programs, while other programs have hot lines that the community members can report in the event of the crime.
The organization created in the community with the involvement of the community members as well as the staff at WBYL, was aimed at restoring justice to the community as a whole inclusive of the children at WYBL. The children would consequently be able to benefit from the summer program. The establishment of the community help program in assistance of the staff at WBYL would do much to create a community that protected themselves as well as others from crime growing and rooting itself in the community. The creation of role models and crime deterrence programs would do much to reduce crime in the community.
Bibliography
CPN. (1996). Balancing Justice: Setting Citizen Priorities for the Corrections System. Retrieved July 29, 2011, from http://www.cpn.org/tools/manuals/community/balancingjustice.html
Davies, S. J. (2007). Security Supervision and Management: The Theory and Practice of Asset Protection. Burlington, USA; Jordan Hill, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Development, u. c. (2010-2011). Neighborhood Watch to Lower Your Crime Rate. Retrieved July 29, 2011, from http://www.useful-community-development.org/neighborhood-watch.html
Lancaster, c. f. (n.d.). Information for Community Organizations. Retrieved July 29, 2011, from http://www.crimefreelancaster.org/community/default.aspx
Leanne Fiftal Alarid, R. V. (2010). Community-Based Corrections. Belmont, CA USA: Cengage Learning.
Linda S. Miller, K. M. (2007). Community policing: Partnerships for problem solving. Belmont, CA USA: Cengage Learning.
Papers, C. (2011). Crime Deterrence Program. Retrieved July 29, 2011, from http://www.customtermpapers.org/samples/argumentative_essay_topics/crime_deterrence/1819.html
SANS. (2003). Community Policing on the Internet. Retrieved July 29, 2011, from http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/awareness/community-policing-internet_917
Sherman, L. W. (2002). Evidence-based crime prevention. Madison Ave, New York: Routledge: Tailors and Francis Group.
Summerfield, M. (2011). Evolution of Deterrence Crime Theory. Associated Content.
