Crime prevention strategies are common to societies with diverse communities. According to Bratina (211), crime and victimization can happen anywhere irrespective of community or measures in place. Crime prevention movements currently form part of communities described (Bratina 210). A crime prevention program consists of safety procedures, prevention issues, and statistics about crime and victimization in the community. This essay carries out an analysis of the crime prevention strategies at Walden University as an example of a community.
Walden University is a diverse community of students with specific security threats and needs. Some of the threats that this community faces include the threat of terrorism which is a contemporary issue. Additionally, the community complies with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure where institutions are required to disclose their Campus Security policies. It also complies with the Campus Crime Statistics Act (Dodington et al. 1). Women are among the most susceptible populations in this institution as in any other community (Pinals 244). Consequently, the institution complies with the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act 2013 (Walker and Smith 319).
The other components of the crime prevention program at the institution include the existence of a campus security authority and a memorandum of understanding with the law enforcement authorities. The partnership ensures that the organization is prioritized in the event of security threats (Pinals 243). Also, the institution has an existing emergency response and evaluation procedure where community members participate. In times of disasters or security threats, the relevant bodies in the institution issue timely warnings as dictated by the procedures.
Walden University community members face the constant threat of sexual assault, sexual misconduct, and other sex offenses. These are common in any society with the women being affected more than their male counterparts (Morgan and Homel 1). Consequently, the institution has measures in place to prevent these offenses such as the sexual violence policy in place. A drug and alcohol policy is also a significant part of the crime prevention strategies at the institution. According to Pinals (243), most of the crimes in societies are related to drug abuse and especially the abuse of alcohol.
The population that the crime prevention program at Walden University impacts on includes the student population, the staff members, and the other members of the community. The diversity of this community is one of the reasons why the program exists. However, this diversity also enables the effective application of the program through the utilization of diverse talents (Fowler and M Braciszewski 257). The Walden University crime prevention program has been effective in crime prevention in this community and addressed the security problems. Some of the changes I would make to this program include the introduction of services that are friendly to students and utilize the education program better to prevent crime.
Although the current crime prevention strategy at Walden University is effective, the program needs to be adapted to the changing security threats. Currently, the security threats are amorphous and take the shape of ordinary citizens (Bratina 210). The institution, therefore, needs to make changes to the program to accommodate the modern threats. Additionally, the program needs to accommodate the student leadership body to introduce a sense of ownership among the students. In the current era, security begins at the individual level (Bratina 210). Consequently, the crime prevention program at Walden University needs to utilize more students.
References
Bratina, Michele P. “Sex Offender Residency Requirements: An Effective Crime Prevention Strategy or a False Sense of Security?” International Journal of Police Science & Management 15.3 (2013): 200-218.
Dodington, James, et al. “Youth and Adult Perspectives on Violence Prevention Strategies: A Community-Based Participatory Study.” Journal of Community Psychology 40.8 (2012): 1022-1031.
Fowler, Patrick J, and Jordan M Braciszewski. “Community Violence Prevention and Intervention Strategies for Children and Adolescents: The Need for Multilevel Approaches.” Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community 37.4 (2009): 255-259.
Morgan, Anthony, and Peter Homel. “Evaluating Crime Prevention: Lessons from Large-Scale Community Crime Prevention Programs.” Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice 458 (2013): 1.
Pinals, Debra A. “Crime, Violence, and Behavioral Health: Collaborative Community Strategies for Risk Mitigation.” CNS Spectrums 20.3 (2015): 241-249.
Walker, Sharon L, and Donald J, Jr Smith. “Children at Risk”: Development, Implementation, and Effectiveness of a School-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Program.” Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community 37.4 (2009): 316-325.