Community Crime Prevention

Crime prevention is an important component in a comprehensive community policing approach. It has a theoretical foundation. There are three theories that can help to explain the workings of crime prevention programming: (1) social disorganization theory, (2) rational choice theory, and (3) routine activities theory. There are five levels or strategies of crime prevention programming. First is the social development. These programs attempt to negate the factors that influence juveniles and adults to engage in criminal behavior. The second crime prevention strategy is situational crime prevention. Situational crime prevention attempts to make crime more difficult through environmental design and enhanced surveillance. The third strategy is community crime prevention programming. The essence of community crime prevention is community involvement. The police have long understood that the efforts to combat crime can be successful only when people are actively involved in assisting the police. The fourth category of crime prevention strategy is legislative/administrative strategies. Programs within this strategy include efforts to pass statutes and administrative regulations that prevent crime or enhance law enforcement's ability to tackle a particular crime problem. The advent of community policing has resulted in numerous changes in law enforcement. One important change has been an increased awareness of the impact of crime prevention on a number of traditional police problems.