Crime & communities
Tackling fear of crime & disorder in the community
The "Social" Approach
Another approach to crime and disorder reduction is social. This involves working with potential or actual offenders to divert them from committing a crime. It also includes improving the quality of life for victims, potential victims of crime and people in general. Examples can involve:
Providing alternatives to crime for young people such as clubs or youth shelters.
Taking out Anti-Social Behaviour Orders or Acceptable Behaviour Contracts against people causing anti-social behaviour.
Providing education programmes that divert people from crime.
Forming Neighbourhood Watch Schemes.
Setting up informal support networks for vulnerable groups such as older people.
Regenerating areas by improving their appearance and improving facilities and then maintaining these improvements.
As well as actually reducing the chances of a crime taking place, using situational and social approaches can also reduce the fear of crime in an area. It is better if a combination of approaches is used. So instead of just relying on physical means of reducing crime, combine them with ways of improving quality of life in an area to greater effect.
Questions
Can you think of any other methods of social crime reduction?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?
Summary
Both social and situational approaches can be used on small scale as well as large scale projects. Local projects focussing on small areas can often be more effective than large projects. Big is not necessarily better.
This section has looked at two different ways of approaching crime reduction and it is important that these approaches are used in a systematic and co-ordinated way. The next section looks at Problem Oriented Policing and Partnership working, which provide the means by which these approaches are put into practice.
Last update: Wednesday, October 18, 2006