Prevention strategies prevent crimes. Crime prevention is a concept applied to combat criminal activities through the development of crime prevention programs and strategies. For example, in cases where there are lower levels of crime in communities, lower offending laws and in reoffending by individuals. In crime prevention, researchers examine the influence of formal and informal social mechanisms of control focusing on the influence of family, peers, school and work. In addition, crime prevention strategies target different levels and needs for individuals, parochial and public action in preventing crime. But for any of these strategies to have a long effect, it should be community-based (Vallée, 2010).
There are four crime prevention approaches: namely situational crime prevention, community prevention, crime prevention through social development and developmental crime prevention (Vallée, 2010). A lot of variables impact crime like psychological makeup, gender, family and societal influence, employment issues, peer group pressures, etc. Through the amalgamation of all the approaches, the strategies become effective in preventing crime.
According to Welsh and Farrington (2007), technological advances have influenced the thinking about crime and efforts taken to prevent it. Hard technological innovations prevent crime over a wide range of applications in contextual difference. Other effective technological innovations include the use of personal protection devices and ignition interlock systems with alcohol-sensor devices. Marx (2007) advocates crime prevention through situational crime control or manual design of the environment.
There are other estimates of using hard technological crime prevention innovations. They include baggage screening at airports, metal detectors in schools, bulletproof teller windows in banks and installed security systems in homes and business places. However, there are only two hard technologies crime prevention innovations that have an effect on crime; closed circuits televisions (CCTV) and improved street lighting. Research discovered that CCTV and improved lighting are more effective in reducing property crimes (Welsh & Farrington, 2007). Consequently, there are ranges of new soft technology innovations developed and used to prevent crime. They include the emergence of threat assessment protocols tools for identification of bullying, software programs preventing identity theft and data privacy.
References
Marx, G. T. (2007). Rocky Bottoms and Some Information Age Techno-Fallacies. Journal of International Political Sociology, 1(1), 83-110.
Vallée, M. (2010). Crime Prevention and Community Safety: A Conceptual Overview. International Journal of Child, Youth & Family Studies, 1(1).
Welsh, B. C., & Farrignton, D. P. (2007). Crime Prevention and Hard Technology: The Case of CCTV and Improved Street Lighting. In J. M. Byrne & D. J. Rebovich (Ed.), The New Technology of Crime, Law and Social Control (pp. 81-102). Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.
