Crime control entails the reduction and deterring of felonies as well as criminals from engaging in crime-related activities. The actions of reducing and deterring are performed by different stakeholders such as law enforcement officers, non-governmental agencies, businesses, as well as ordinary persons. Increased crime rates are among the significant issues that haul individual and community growth in general. As such, successfully control of criminal activities such as vandalism, drug peddling, and theft among others can lead to improved standards of living, job growth, and increased investments. Some cities are now safer than they were some two or so decades ago. As a result, they have witnessed extensive growth and prosperity. However, the crime rate is a quite significantly unpredictable issue that requires continuous attention. It tends to fluctuate with little or no alteration in the primary socioeconomic state. Despite crime rates usually being primarily concentrated in low-income settings, they are not determined by the socioeconomic state of the different neighborhoods. The primary determinant remains to be the quality as well as the quantity of policing. Collaboration between the public and the law enforcement fraternity is critical in ensuring a safer environment. Therefore, this paper elucidates the security impact on crime control with a brief description of the crime triangle and its purposes.
The enhancement of security in areas purported to be the hub for criminal activities as well as criminals has played a significant role in crime control. Law enforcement agencies have employed techniques such as crime mapping as well as crime analysis to pinpoint such areas ( Frydl and Skogan, 2004) . As a result, those neighborhoods that statistically require extra security have received more policing relative to areas that are apparently safer. For example, because of the notion that crime is more prevalent in urban settings, these areas receive more resources and officers for effective and efficient crime controlling ( , 2004) . According to Frydl and Skogan (2004), the close monitoring of these crime ‘hot spots’ has to some extent played a role in deterring crime (238).
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Moreover, security measures such as surveillance, visibility, and target hardening have also impacted crime control. There are two forms of surveillance, that is, informal and formal surveillance ( Naicker, 2016 ). Passive surveillance entails casual observation of both private and public settings by residents and users as they execute their daily endeavors ( Naicker, 2016 ). On the other hand, active surveillance is the surveillance performed by law enforcement officers as well as agencies with whose primary mandate is to ‘police' the said environment( Naicker, 2016 ). Additionally, visibility entails making an environment visible through elements such as continuous lines of sight as well as proper lighting ( Naicker, 2016 ). Alternatively, employment of target hardening, for instance, physical strengthening of boundary walls as well as building facades, has been crucial in diminishing the vulnerability of potential targets ( Naicker, 2016 ). Application of a combination of these principles rather than in an independent context has increased the probability of crime control.
Description of Crime Prevention Triangle
Application of the crime triangle, also known as Crime Prevention Triangle, has been crucial in crime control. The Crime Prevention Triangle is a concept that asserts that crime can only occur if all its three triangle elements exist ( Crime Prevention Triangle, 2015 ). These three elements are desire, ability, and opportunity. First, a criminal has to have the desire to commit a crime. A criminal’s wish to commit a crime is independent of external influence. As such, nobody can affect or remove the desire to engage in criminal activity. Second, the criminal has to have the capability of committing a felony. A criminal will find a way of committing a crime regardless of the barriers, and thus the ability is also independent of any external influence. Third, the criminal has to have an opportunity to engage in an unlawful activity. This is the element that can be influenced by external forces, that is, eliminating the chance for the occurrence of crime breaks the Crime Prevention Triangle.
Purpose of a crime prevention triangle
Essentially, for a crime to occur availability of an offender, a victim, and a location is necessary, and if one lacks, the offense cannot happen ( Crime Prevention Triangle, 2015 ). The crime prevention triangle provides a straightforward approach of visualizing as well as understanding crime problems. It helps law enforcement agencies to locate and eliminate any of the elements of the triangle thereby removing the crime as a whole. For instance, desire can be reduced through sensitization of the effects of crime on one’s life; ability can be removed through incarceration and opportunity by target hardening. As such, the crime prevention triangle is essential in the incorporation of these activities.
Conclusion
Overall, security practices such as crime analysis and crime mapping have played a critical role in crime control efforts. The two procedures have aided law enforcement officers and other security agencies to beef up security in areas considered as ‘hot spots’ for criminal activities. As a consequence, these neighborhoods have recorded a significant decrease in illegal activities. Moreover, security principles such as surveillance, visibility, as well as target hardening have improved crime detection and reduction of susceptibility of potential targets. Also, the use of the Crime Prevention Triangle concept has come in handy in crime control. Particularly, Crime Prevention Triangle has assisted law enforcement officers as well as other security agencies in locating and eliminating either of the three elements efficiently, that is, desire, ability, and opportunity, thus crippling the possibility of a crime occurring.
References
Crime Prevention Triangle. (2015). Crime Prevention Triangle. Retrieved March 10, 2019, from https://www.schererville.org/crime-prevention-triangle/
Frydl, K., & Skogan, W. G. (2004). Fairness and effectiveness in policing: The evidence . Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press.
Naicker, K. (2016). Principles of crime prevention. Retrieved March 10, 2019, from https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Local/Hillcrest-Fever/principles-of-crime-prevention-20160704
