Crime Reduction and Prevention Proposal for Detroit Essay

Crime Reduction and Prevention Proposal for Detroit

Crime Prevention Proposal for Detroit, Michigan

In the midst of a very instable economic environment around the nation, it is crucial for all cities to bump up their strategies at preventing crime in order to be able to avoid future costs associated with fighting crime and imprisoning criminals. Crime prevention is one of the most cost effective strategies in criminal justice, and it can help save property and lives. This is especially crucial for the city of Detroit, which faces its own set of unique challenges in a severely volatile economy that has the potential to lead to increase in a wide variety of crimes, making prevention methods and strategies a crucial tool for local law enforcement.

First and foremost, the city of Detroit needs to bolster its community policing programs through increased community involvement with its law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately, the number of police officers has been cut by almost 25% over the past few years based on financial trouble within local law enforcement departments (Gray, 2009). As money continues to be an issue, hiring more police officers is not a successful strategy. Rather, the city can focus on increased community policing methods. This could include the city's gang unit spending more time gathering information and working with community members in order to prevent crime before it actually occurs. According to the research information gathered through community policing efforts "may be used to prevent homicides and other crimes" (Gray, 2009). Redirecting officers to show their presence near community schools and parks can help show an increased presence, despite no actual increase in officer numbers. It is crucial for law enforcement to work with the community in order to better ensure the success of its crime prevention strategies. The community wants to prevent crime just as much as law enforcement does, and should be used as…