Research paper on Crime

“A crime occurs when four things are in concurrence: a law, an offender, a target, and a place. Without a law there is no crime and without an offender there is no crime. These four elements: law, the offender, the target and the place can be characterised as the four dimensions of crime” (Kitchen, 2002).

The importance of the four criminal dimensions is to be understood and considered so as to decrease the rate of crimes. It has been pointed out that with the help of the four basic elements it is possible to reduce or prevent the ability of the criminal to commit a crime (Stollard, 1995). Nevertheless these dimensions of crime emphasize elementary fundamentals of the ways in which crime can be committed and a number of elements influencing its progression. The means of a committed crime cannot be foreseen, but planning can become a major factor of reducing the affects of crime (Kitchen, 2002). However, the environment where the crime takes place, and the location of the crime has been viewed as a factor of crime prevention by common people and researchers, where attention is mainly directed to offenders, economic and social circumstances and the criminal justice system (Colquhoun, 2004).

On the other hand, there are different ways of crime prevention which consist of three of the following phases. These are place, people and situation directed on strategies that often represent a complex of various perspectives and policies. The people-oriented strategy is more often known as “crime prevention through social development” or CPTSD (Criminaljustice, 2007). This concept implies social circumstances, among which are family, housing, education and promotion of well-doing by means of social development. Such International authorities as the United Kingdom and United Nations agree on the point that CPTSD is a successful strategy which can be used in the areas with a high criminal rate, especially in the areas where the youth or children are involved in criminal activity (CCSD, 2009). Development of social conditions has also contributed to different ways for young people to lead a lawful life. Otherwise, they might find themselves in prison for a criminal conviction. Unlike CPTSD, place-oriented strategy is usually known as “crime prevention through environmental design” or CPTED (CCSD, 2009). CPTED underlines that “the proper design and effective use of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the incidence and fear of crime, and an improvement in the quality of life” (Urbanspaces, 2009). It makes crime prevention go even further and aims at improving safer projects on new and already existing developments, along with decreasing the risk of crime. Besides, it unites and encourages common people, planners, architects, developers and property owners to work for the sake of the community’s welfare and solve the criminal problems by applying CPTED principles to the design and management tendencies of the built environment. In this regard, the combination of the following prevention strategies (CPSD, SPTED) and situational methods leads to the ability to create an effective approach in crime prevention in urban areas and communities.