Crime Prevention Programs

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Crime displacement, which is defined as the relocation of crime from one place, time, target, offense, or tactic to another as a result of some crime prevention initiative, is known to be a misfortunate and unintended effect of crime prevention (Rosenbaum, Lurigio, & Davis, 1998). There are many various forms of crime displacement such as temporal, spatial, target, tactical, and offense. These forms all relate to the modification an offender makes when crime is repositioned as a result of crime prevention strategies. Although crime displacement is seen as a negative effect of crime prevention, there are several positives outcomes that can come from crime displacement.

Crime prevention programs and schemes are put in place to evaluate and address crime, and hopefully prevent it. The programs can be implemented for individuals, communities, or specific locations. Crime prevention programs are intended to have a specific, intended effect on crime, and to ultimately eliminate it. As stated in the book Prevention of Crime: Social and Situational Strategies, “situational strategies are based on the well-established notion that crimes occur most often in particular places, times, and circumstances” (Rosenbaum, Lurigio, & Davis, 1998). The predominant issue with crime prevention and situational strategies is that it is believed that crime is never truly “eliminated” and just relocated to a different area, which is how crime displacement comes into play. There are studies and theories that prove that even though crime is prevented in a certain area, it never actually disappears. There are several different types of “crime displacement” such as spatial, temporal, target, and tactical. All four of these are similar in which they relate to ...

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...be eliminated completely, transferring crime away from more vulnerable groups of people can be extremely beneficial to society. Relocating crimes to places where the community impact is less harmful is just as important as well. In a way, law enforcement can almost manage displacement in order to make it advantageous to society.

Crime displacement is commonly referred to as the unwanted problem that comes along with crime prevention and programs. There are various forms of displacement that are widely studied and analyzed, some more than others. Overall, crime displacement is the result of crime-control policies and the amount of opportunities left for offenders. It can potentially be a profitable theory because of the benefits, such as helping to plan strategies in order to prevent crime, but without a doubt is a part of crime prevention that cannot be avoided.

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