Crime is rampant such that it has global attention just like the economy. However, there are various programs that are formulated to prevent or curb crime in the community and learning institution. The paper discusses seven programs that are meant to prevent crime.
According to an article dubbed “Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn’t, What’s Promising”, much of the concentration is given on how the programs do not work (ncjrs.gov, 1998). Nevertheless, the programs have an impact towards crime prevention. The first and most competent program for crime prevention is the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.). DARE is a school curriculum that is taught to students in the 5th and 6th grade. Uniformed police officers are responsible for teaching the curriculum, thus making it a legal program. The reason for ranking DARE as the first program for crime prevention is that; it is an approach that begins crime control from the grass root to children in 5th and 6th grade. Hence, DARE enhances crime prevention since the knowledge on how to resist drugs also acts as a way to resist other crimes. Moreover, DARE is fairly expensive compared to other programs that will be discussed below. However, DARE has limitations seeing that it addresses one type of crime which is drug abuse.
The second program that is effective for crime control is the Intensive supervision on parole or probation (ISP). When an offender is on probation, intensive supervision is the best way to ensure that the offender learns a lesson while in probation. Though most probation cases are lenient, intensive supervision on probation is one of the best ways for crime control. The main reason for ranking it second is that; it is efficient. Though it does not monitor the repeat of offense, a majority of the offenders who undergo supervision on probation do not repeat the same crimes again. However, the ISP is time-consuming thus not popular in most states.
Gun buyback is the third efficient way of crime prevention. A brief description of the program is that; it is a program where privately owned firearms are purchased from civilians by the government (ncjrs.gov, 1998). It reduces major crimes such as homicides that are rampant in the United States. Besides, It is ranked third since it is somewhat expensive compared to other programs. However, the buyback program increases violence especially when there is a search for guns in the community.
The fourth crime prevention program is the storefront police officers. The program is efficient especially to offenses such as armed robbery and burglary. Crimes that are rampant today are associated with the armed robbery. Often, the theft occurs in stores and towns. Storefront police officers play a significant role in the crime prevention hence being ranked fourth. Moreover, it is cheap since it is the government initiative to allocate the police officers specific locations to patrol.
Home detention with electronic monitoring is the fifth effective program. The monitor is locked around the leg of the offender to control the offender’s movement and limit the distance to travel. The distance and movement limiting acts as a detention for the offender hence cannot go and commit a crime without being detected. Hence, the program is ranked fifth. Moreover, it is efficient since one cannot distort the monitor.
Scared straight is the sixth practical program. It involves taking juvenile offenders to maximum prisons to show them the real life that expects them if they continue committing a crime. It is ranked sixth because the scaring nature of the prisons acts as a turning back point for offenders and also for people who would have thought of committing a crime.
The last ranked program is the Neighborhood Watch program. The reason for the program being ranked last is that; it is the least efficient program (ncjrs.gov, 1998). The fact remains that, people move from one house to another. Moreover, people do not spend their lifetime in their homes. Hence, crime can be committed while one is away from home. Moreover, people do not know the motive of their neighbors thus cannot tell their next move. The bottom-line is that; the program can prevent crime though it is not efficient.
The list below outlines the ranking of the programs from the most efficient to the least efficient.
1. DARE
2. Intensive supervision on parole or probation (ISP)
3. Gun buyback
4. storefront police officers
5. Home detention with electronic monitoring
6. Scared straight
7. Neighborhood watch
- Jeremy Travis National Institute of Justice, Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn’t, What’s Promising July 1998 web pg. 9 retrieved date 23 March 2016.
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/171676.PDF
