12 - Crime prevention
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 October 2009
Summary
It should be understood at the outset that the principal object to be attained is the Prevention of Crime.
… The security of person and property, the preservation of the public tranquillity and all the other objects of a police establishment will thus be better effected, than by detection and punishment of the offender after he has succeeded in committing the crime.
From General Instruction Book by C. Rowan, First Metropolitan Police Commissioner, 1829Following Commisioner Rowan, the final chapter of this section of the book surveys attempts to prevent offending, but moves beyond the limited context of police action to various forms of social management. These range from the role of bystanders, residents and citizens in general, to target hardening and the potential role of the media.
The police
Very broadly, two changes in police action have been urged. The first, which was considered in Chapter 3, involves enhanced police activity in high crime areas or in the targeting of well known offenders. It has had mixed results and is costly. The second relates to the way the police handle juveniles suspected of minor offenses, or apprehended during their commission, and implies a lighter touch than is used at present.
Police – juvenile encounters
The previous chapter mentioned programs for training juveniles in managing their side of the police–juvenile encounter. It is probably more practicable to train the police to respond to juveniles so as to divert them, whenever possible, from the track which culminates in an institutional sentence.
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- The Psychology of CrimeA Social Science Textbook, pp. 410 - 424Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1993