Crime Reduction and Prevention Proposal for Detroit

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 a lucrative resource.

Moreover, another proposed strategy would be to increase the involvement and cooperation with larger, national agencies that can help provide resources and knowledge to facilitate strategies for preventing crime in Detroit. The city of Detroit is limited in regards to its financial resources, based on the extreme instability the region has seen during the recession (Gray, 2009). This limits the city's effectiveness in preventing crime through costly programs and community outreach. However, the city does not have to fight crime alone with these limited resources. For example, Homeland Security federal agencies offer grant programs that help local metropolitan areas prevent crime before it gets out of hand. Currently, national programs offer over "$3 billion in grants to states, territories, urban areas, and transportation authorities under 14 programs designed to bolster national preparedness capabilities and protect critical infrastructure" as well as for local programs designated fro crime prevention (Kerlikowske & Davis, 2008, p 10). This would help provide much needed financial resources for local programs aimed at crime prevention. Additionally, this increased cooperation and communication between local and federal agencies would help in other areas than just providing financial assistance. This would also include cooperation between federal and local Detroit agencies to help prevent crime as well. One proposal would be to increase the ease of cooperation and sharing of national databases that highlight particular criminal individuals and agencies (Kerlikowske & Davis, 2008). This would help local law enforcement in Detroit recognize potential threats as they enter their city, allowing them to be proactive in keeping tabs on certain high profile individuals based on what the knowledge they can gain from working with federal databases.