IndexIntroductionApproaches to crime preventionEvolutionary approachCommunity policingSituational approachComparison of dominant approaches to crime preventionContrast of dominant approaches to crime preventionMost effective approach to crime preventionConclusionIntroduction When acts occur criminals, in many cases the victims would have preferred that the act had never been committed. They would have preferred that the criminal act had been prevented. Crime prevention therefore refers to any effort to prevent crime or crime from occurring in the first place (Braga, 2008). Various institutions deal with crime prevention. The police when arresting a gang member, a court holding a suspect in a penitentiary or even a community observes a sign on a property. However, it is important to note that these are not the only institutions working to prevent crime. Problem-oriented policing initiatives also prevent crime through gateway policies that seek to discourage potential offenders from committing crimes in the first instance (Braga, 2008). Crime prevention therefore offers alternatives to more conservative ways of approaching and responding to crime. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay There are several ways to classify approaches to crime prevention. One way to prevent crime involves the community itself. The community is committed to crime prevention through the creation of community policing structures and dedicated members to respond to the incidence of crime in the community. This is evidenced in the use of the Neighborhood Watch on many properties across the United States. The other approach concerns the measures taken by penitentiary facilities to try to reform offenders. The institutions are also considered preventive for their presumed deterrence towards possible criminals. The last classification concerns law enforcement. This includes both the police and the courts. These two institutions work to prevent crime by identifying potential offenders such as gang members or, in the event that the courts decide whether to release or continue to detain offenders. Approaches to crime prevention The criminal justice system involves both members of the police force, courts, correctional facilities and the community. All members of the justice system respond differently to how they approach crime prevention. Therefore each of these agencies has its own dominant approaches to preventing crime. Evolutionary Approach This approach assumes that the crime rate is lowered by changing potential offenders before they engage in criminal situations. This will involve changing their skills, knowledge, motivations and dispositions before they begin to engage in crimes and criminal activities (Ekblom and Pease, 1995). This is a social approach and focuses mainly on the long term. The approach aims to make the entire community less skilled and informed about crime and criminal activities. For example, increasing resilience and strengthening positive behavior have been found to reduce antisocial behavior in children from challenging backgrounds. The program used the approach to address risk factors associated with antisocial behaviour. They further developed protection mechanisms at individual, community and school levels. Following this, antisocial behavior and calls decreasedpolice at school decreased from 24 to four in the second year it was introduced (Gant and Grabosky, 2000). Community policing This is a dominant approach in law enforcement and the courts. Community policing, also known as home policing or community policing, involves the community working together with the police to help protect communities. This is especially important because the police cannot be everywhere at once. In neighborhood watch programs, the police provide advice on necessary safety measures that citizens can take at home, educating the public about crime prevention and property reporting. Neighborhood watch programs work to prevent crime by engaging residents to watch for suspicious activity and report it to the police, and improve social control and cohesion in the community (Bennet et al., 2006). A review and analysis of the program found that it reduced crime in communities by up to 16 percent compared to communities that did not use it. Situational Approach However, this approach is predominantly focused on reducing crime in correctional facilities. The model focuses primarily on environmental factors that influence an offender's decision to commit a crime. The model is based on the rational theory that offenders make rational and purposeful decisions to commit a crime after analyzing the costs and benefits of criminal activity (Wortley, 2002). Wortley divides the approach in two. Controlling regulators involves increasing perceived risks, reducing expected outcomes, increasing expected punishments, and increasing the effort to commit these crimes. Furthermore, precipitator control includes provocation reduction, pressure control, and stimulus control. Comparing Dominant Approaches to Crime Prevention The three forms of crime prevention share some similarities in how they interact with the community. Like, they all share that element of community. All three approaches focus on how the community can be involved in the prevention of crime and criminal activities (Braga, 2008). The evolutionary approach focuses on how the community can be changed in the way of thinking to ensure that you move away from issues of crime commission. Community policing, on the other hand, seeks to have community members literally police their own neighborhoods to help identify and report incidents of crime or suspicious behavior. The situational approach focuses on the need for the community as a whole to work by reducing opportunities for criminals to commit crimes and making it more difficult for them to get away with crimes. Contrasting dominant approaches to crime prevention All dominant approaches to crime prevention strategies also share some differences. While these approaches all focus on the community, the time it takes to achieve change is very different. While the situational approach will bring about change quickly, the evolutionary approach will take a long time to bring about change. This is because; the strategy requires changing the entire behavior of a community, from children to adults (Gant and Grabosky). Community policing, on the other hand, will change the safety of a community in the short to medium term. Community policing will gradually make members get to know each other and therefore, over time, they will be able to easily distinguish strangers from neighbors and therefore will be in a better position to identify strange incidents in the community. The approach.