CRIME PREVENTION: An Overview
by Kelly M. Glenn
Crime Prevention is the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk, and the initiation of action to remove or reduce it. Simply put, crime prevention is the attempt to reduce and/or deter crime. It encompasses a wide range of strategies that address the three elements of the crime triangle (different from the Crime Prevention Triangle), which illustrates that a crime involves an offender, a victim/target, and a location.
Strategies used to prevent crime can be implemented by individuals, communities, businesses, organizations, and at all levels of the government. It’s beneficial for many reasons, but ultimately, it is cheaper, safer, and healthier to prevent crime than it is to address the aftermath of crime, like helping victims to recover, restoring property, and holding offenders accountable.
While there are several crime prevention strategies, theories, models, and techniques, they all hold the similar belief that effective prevention requires addressing the root causes of crime, rather than just treating the symptoms. With that said, it’s often the symptoms that alert us to festering problems. Another belief that is consistent across crime prevention efforts is that action plans must be long-term if they are to be effective. Finally, while crime prevention can be accomplished by individuals, it often takes collaboration with community partners to have a significant impact.
Major crime prevention strategies, theories, models, and techniques include:
- The Crime Prevention Triangle
- The S.A.R.A. Model (Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment)
- The Broken Windows Theory
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
Below includes a brief overview of each with clickable links to articles that delve deeper. These articles include scenarios and examples of how each strategy, theory, model, or technique can be applied!
The Crime Prevention Triangle
The Crime Prevention Triangle illustrates that a crime can be prevented if the offender’s desire, ability, or opportunity is removed. Desire reflects the motivation of an offender. Opportunity is the chance to act on that desire, and ability means the offender is capable of following through. If any one of the three sides of the triangle is missing, the offender cannot/will not commit the crime.
The S.A.R.A. Model
The S.A.R.A. Model is a product of “Problem-Oriented Policing,” in which four steps are used to target the root cause of a community problem. Those four steps include:
- Scanning – What is the problem?
- Analysis – What is causing the problem?
- Response – What can be done to eliminate the problem?
- Assessment – Did the response plan work?
The Broken Windows Theory
The Broken Windows Theory uses the basic metaphor of a broken window to demonstrate how crime and disorder tend to flourish in environments where small problems go unaddressed. It focuses heavily on the “location” side of the Crime Triangle and the “opportunity” side of the Crime Prevention Triangle.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
CPTED is a strategy of crime prevention that involves the intentional design of buildings, landscaping, access routes, and other exterior/interior security measures to reduce and/or eliminate crime and disorder. Crime Prevention Specialists are trained to conduct site assessments to evaluate four strategies: Access Control, Surveillance, Territorial Reinforcement, and Maintenance.
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Suggested Citation for this Article
Glenn, K.M., Criminal Justice Know How, LLC, April 2020, Crime Prevention: An Overview. https://criminaljusticeknowhow.com/crime-prevention-an-overview/.
