Introduction to Criminology: Crime and Prevention Strategies

Task 1

Write a newsletter article which evaluates the impact of crime on individuals, communities, the uniformed protective services, referring to relevant statistics and reports.

Your article will need to:

Reach a fully supported judgement on the impact of crime on individuals, communities, the uniformed protective services, making reference to issues such as fear and perception of crime and the cost of supporting victims and witnesses
Consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of the various statistics and reports that are used to measure
crime and its impact, making reference to how these statistics are gathered to support your discussion
Compare and contrast the methods that are used to measure crime and criminal behaviour
Explain the patterns of criminal behaviour in relation to gender, social class, age, ethnicity and location and other criminological theories

Checklist Of Evidence Required

An article that evaluates the impact of crime on individuals, communities and the uniformed protective services and other public services, referring to relevant statistics and reports.

Vocational Scenario Or Context

You are continuing your work experience with the Youth Offending Team.

They were impressed with your article relating to patterns of crime and they now want you to develop your understanding of crime

Task 1

Prevention control strategies and punishment and support for victims and witnesses of crime.

Your supervisor has presented you with details of two recent cases they have been dealing with.

They would like you to produce a report in which you evaluate the impact of the strategies used by uniformed protective services and other public services for crime prevention and punishment in the context of the case studies, reaching a fully supported judgement. In producing your evaluation, you will need to:

Explain the various strategies for crime prevention that will be used in each of the case studies, such as situation and environmental crime prevention and other models of crime prevention. In doing this, you should ensure that you make reference to the key theorists involved in developing each of these strategies
Consider the benefits and drawbacks of each method of crime prevention and control and select the most appropriate for each case study
Explain the various strategies used for punishment that will be used in the case studies, including reference to the various perspectives on punishment, such as functionalist, Marxist and postmodernist perspectives and their key theorists
Consider the most appropriate method of punishment for the individuals involved in the case studies, referring to the relevant aims and types of sentences
Discuss the effectiveness or otherwise of prison as a form of punishment

Checklist Of Evidence Required

A report that evaluates the impact of the strategies used by uniformed protective services and other public services for crime prevention and punishment in the given case study.

Task 2

You have come to the end of your work experience withthe Youth Offending Team.

They are concerned that both victims and witnesses of crime are not aware of the range of support that is available to them and are therefore reluctant to report crime.

They would like you to research the range of support available and produce a report to produce guidance for witnesses and victims.

Your report should evaluate the effectiveness of the support given by the uniformed protective services to victims and witnessed of crime and other organisations.

You will need to:

Describe the factors that contribute to how a victim will experience victimisation
Consider the various forms of support provided to victims and witnesses of crime by the uniformed protective services and other organisations, such as the Victim
Information Service, Victim Contact Schemes, Witness Care Units
Include reference to research and data that analyses the effectiveness of the support provided to both victim and witnesses of crime

Provide examples that demonstrate the positive aspects and challenges associated with the support given to witnesses and victims of crime

Examples of case studies

Case Study 1

The town centre of Whitepool, which is a seaside town, has been experiencing an increasing amount of criminal behaviour, in the form of criminal damage. Gangs of youths have been vandalising shop fronts, breaking windows and spraying graffiti on building and bus stops. The police were able to identify two members of the gang, Anthony Harris and Toby McNeil. Both were 19, from the Whitepool area and were known to the police, with both having lengthy criminal records for property offences. In the past they had both been given community orders as punishment.

Case Study 2

Prestlake is an urban city, just outside of Whitepool. The city has seen an increasing number of burglaries of the past four months, with there being just over 20 in the wealthy Arkley area of the city.

It has been suggested that individuals living in the Langley estate on the outskirts of the city are responsible for the burglaries. The estate is council operated, with the majority of those living there currently receiving benefits due to unemployment after the closure of the two large shopping centres which both moved to a neighbouring city.

The police have said they are doing their best to stop the burglaries continuing and have managed to make some arrests. They have thanked those residents of the Arkley area who have recently installed CCTV cameras as a result of the burglaries. This enabled them to arrest two women and three men, aged 25 – 40 for the burglaries. The two women were already known to the police due to previous convictions for theft and drug related offences.

Expert Answers on Above Criminology Case Studies

Impact of crime and crime control strategies

The impact of crime on individuals: The major negative impact of crime on individuals is in the form of fear, anxiety and loss of trust. There are higher possibilities of witnessing financial losses and reduced well being, and the fear of retaliation also restricts them from reporting the crime.
Impact on communities: That impact on community is negative as it leads to a negative reputation within the society leading to reduced level of socialisation and tourism activities. There are higher chances of social exclusion from repeated criminal activities.
Impact on uninformed protective services: The impact on uninformed protective services is also high as it leads to increased workload and resource pressure because of rising criminal activities. It also leads to additional financial burden and questions the efficiency of the system.

Crime statistics: Benefits and drawbacks

In terms of benefits, it helps in identifying the areas that are prone to high risk and thereby supports the development of crime prevention strategies to combat such issues. However in terms of drawbacks, there are higher cases of non reporting by witnesses, and it also leads to perceptions of crime differing from recorded data.

Methods of measuring crime

Crime can be measured using the data available with police, by way of conducting surveys with victims and also evaluating the self reporting studies.
Patterns of criminal behaviour
In terms of gender, it is mainly the male people that commits the majority of the crime, and in terms of age, such criminal activities are performed by young people. From a social class point of view, people struggling with finance usually commit such criminal activities and from a location point of view, it is the deprived areas that show the higher cases of criminal activities.

Crime prevention strategies: Case studies

Case study 1: Whitepool
The crime prevention can be achieved through CCTV and improved lighting in the area, where environmental prevention requires urban design and graffiti removal. The benefits are available in terms of immediate deterrence whereas the drawback is in the form of lack of solution for the underlying causes. The best solution available is to combine prevention with youth intervention.
Case study 2: Prestlake
The situational prevention can be achieved through CCTV and target hardening, and social prevention by way of providing employment support and opening drug rehabilitation centres. As a result, it will lead to reduced opportunity and reoffending while this approach is highly costly.

Punishment Strategies and effectiveness of prison

The best punishment strategies would be to issue community orders, custodial sentences and fines. With respect to effectiveness of prison, a higher reoffending rate directly questions the long term effectiveness of strategies in managing criminal activities.

Support for victims and witnesses

The factors that directly impact the experience of a victim are the severity of crime, the level of support received and also the personal resilience factor. The support services available on witness care units, charitable organisations and such support is highly effective as they help in improving the confidence of victims and emotional support also helps in managing trauma.

Disclaimer: This answer is a model for study and reference purposes only. Use it for your learning to do your assignment on your own. Please do not submit it as your own work.

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