Introduction
Crime has been one of the most rapidly used words in the current world of information. The word itself is capable enough to give a whole lot of meaning but giving it a technical definition is one of the toughest jobs. But despite all sorts of technical and non technical problems, a proper wholesome definition of the same is very much urgent so that this phenomenon can be made understood at every stage of a human life. The crime and its implications has to be made understood to each and every citizen of the nation right from the stage he or she starts getting the feel of the society and things that have been associated with it (Baldassare, 1986).
The most important philosophy around which the whole act of crime and crime prevention hovers is that this crime is very much a manmade enigma and the perpetrators or the criminals are not born, they are developed in this society and later become a bane to the same society from where it has been developed. In other words it can be understood that crime is very much a human act and if we take out the civilization clause from the dictionary of human society and make it equivalent to the savagery, this crime is not exactly something which can be termed inhumane. It’s something present in very nature of humans and they technically possess every characteristic of an animal. It is a threat that is comparable to anything that has been faced by the society in past but is actually a very intelligent form of threat that waits for the opportunity to transform its ability into an act of crime under the influence of desire. Hence this phenomenon of crime is basically an action which involves at least two human beings with one being the perpetrator and the other one is the victim (Kelling, & Wilson, 1982).
Crime prevention needs to tackle the social complexity of crime. Though the legal procedures and enforcement agencies are very much present to redress the problem, they have miserably failed to provide something which will have some long term impact. They actually provide security either through prosecution or through prevention. Prosecution leads to arrest and a whole lot of legal procedures including the judgment and imprisonment. Prevention deals with stopping a criminal from committing something heinous. The option of committing a crime is to be closed. Hence the target issue is the creation the hindrance for a criminal through wide spread precautionary measures being implemented through every single home to any of the working place or public place present in the locality. The important point is to shield oneself from being a victim. The crime and its different techniques have to be made understood to each and every person. Right from the beginning i.e., during childhood, one should be made aware of the prevention procedures and the importance of it has to be made a part of the complete thought process. But still after this much precaution the outcome of these procedures has been found to be very much limited and the crime rate is on its way to rise and rise (Kelling, & Wilson, 1982).
The most important thing is to act against the cause that make a criminal rather than reducing the opportunities for him to commit some crime. We have to realize that this criminal has been developed from this society only and the problem is in the social pattern and due to these patterns we have to face certain people who have got out of the normal way of social life and are acting against the group of which it is a very important part. So the new crime prevention should deal with the very cause of creation of a criminal and factors fuelling its growth.
Crime Prevention Plan of the new society
The humans have reached to the current age of information after getting a number of destruction and wars. Initially, it had to fight adversities of earth and its surroundings and after the formation of some civilization, it had to fulfill the expectations of the society and associated challenges as well as the responsibilities that came up along with the evolutionary process. The criminal instinct is the outcome of the growth of the negative fighter characteristic that is remnant from the earlier days of struggle. The same old natural characteristics are very active and are always thriving to make some impact on the behavior pattern and have been the ultimate source for every single occurrence of the crime (Bursik, 1988).
The law based forced approach has been extremely powerful as well as effective solution to the occurrence of crime but has not been able to eliminate this social curse. The crime prevention under this approach is more of based on the concept of hindering the criminal element. But the real cause that creates a criminal has not been given enough value and hence the process of new legislation and new wave of crime and criminals continue to get happened. It’s not the criminals who are the subject of concern but it’s the criminal thought process and that has to be targeted so that the ultimate objective of developing a new human within that disturbed person can be developed (Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior [IVDB], 2003).
The possible solution to the cause of crime requires the application of different social processes involving research based approach. But before the application of the processes different causes for this criminal behavior and its creation has to be discussed. The child in its formative sees many things and in accordance with its understanding capability it takes decision (Bursik & Gramsick, 1993). A healthy child hood is a very necessary thing to stop the creation of any criminal. There are many possible factors which affect the child. Different factors that have strongly associated and have become reason can be the
- Material wealth: It depicts the average financial state of area or the society which breeds crime. It quantifies the very material or average prosperity of the family and the society of which a person is a part of. The lack of houses or accommodation of a large number of people in a small house sharply reduces the quality of up bringing of a child (Bursik & Gramsick, 1993).
- Health: This factor has its importance while quantifying security at the physical as well as mental health of the people. It decides the affluence and the penury that has been faced by the child (IVDB, 2003).
- Social security and stability: The overall development and upbringing of a child is a multiple of this factor. The child is greatly affected with its neighborhood and hence every thing that happens in the neighborhood makes an impact on the child’s social as well personal behavior (IVDB, 2003).
- Family life: The condition of a family on an average is an indication of family life of the child. The divorce rates are being given the status of indicator for quantifying this factor. The rising instances of single parenthood are another very important cause. The separation is a very traumatic experience of a child and can be a reason behind the creation of a situation of loneliness and the state of depression (IVDB, 2003).
- Community and Social Life: This factor corresponds to the social behavior of the child and how much adjustable his attitude is. The negligibility in social life corresponds to lower interest of the child in community life thereby increasing another wave of insecurity at personal as well social level (Bursik & Gramsick, 1993).
- Job Security: This factor is self explanatory and is being indicated through unemployment rate expressed in percentage. A secure job to a youth makes him more confident and ultimately he or she turns out to be a better prospect to the society. At the same time the insecurity in this factor causes frustration and causes the occurrence of diminishing patterns in above mentioned factors especially material well being (Bursik & Gramsick, 1993).
Juveniles
The Juvenile based crime prevention program is based on making an impact on the causes that promotes this problem. At the same time the child should be made aware of the benefits associated with a healthy social life. At every levels of growth right from the home to schools, the children must be taught of the requirements of civilized society that is none other than personal accountability for every actions and decisions. The learning process should be in form of both theoretical as well as social practices. The consequences of a poor decision and the positives associated with the good decision should be made into a matter of fact and curriculum (Butts, Coggeshall, Gouvis, Mears, Travis, Waul, & White, 2002).
The introduction as well as implementation of this type of process will require participation of every element of the system as well as the society. The basic purpose of every such efforts being implemented through the channels emanating from the state, local governments as well as the communities should be the deterrence to commit first time offenses and hence reduction in recidivism and possible hardening of criminal thought. Every constituent element of the juvenile system should be given lessons of child treatment while those who should be subjected to intense study of child behavior are those simple policemen or on ground staff who are in continuous touch with the common public which also includes children. The rehabilitation plan should necessary be initiated with the help of private enterprises so that the possible partnership could be stretched from learning in schools to rehabilitation in form of job as well as creation of opportunities for more growth and possible higher level of satisfaction at personal front as well as social fronts (Butts et. al, 2002).
Conclusion
The child is the future and it’s our responsibility to keep in an environment of social happiness and tranquility. They require proper attention and respect. Any piece of indifference from our side will make the situation worse and hence in later stages its not just that child who is going to suffer but the whole society will have to face the music of that indifferent attitude. The crime prevention plan is more of juvenile centric rather than legal provision centric. The criminal mind set has to be attacked and the whole cause of its creation and sustenance should be weeded out. The reduction in cases of juveniles is meant for creating a better future with 100 percent crime elimination.
References
Baldassare, M (1986). Trouble in Paradise: the suburban transformation in America. New York: Columbia University Press.
Butts, J., Coggeshall, M., Gouvis, C., Mears, D., Travis, J., Waul, M. & White, R. (2002). Youth Guns and juvenile Justice System, Urban Institute Justice Policy Center.
Bursik, Robert J. (1988). Social Disorganization and Theories of Crime and Delinquency. American Journal of Sociology 88: 24-42.
Bursik, Robert J. and H. G. Gramsick. (1993). Economic Deprivation and Neighborhood Crime Rates. Law and Society Review 27: 263-83.
Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior (2003). Juvenile Crime Prevention Program Evaluation.
Kelling, G. L. & Wilson, J. Q (1982). The police and neighborhood safety, Atlantic Monthly.