Prevention Of Crime

The prevention of crime and juvenile delinquency, like the prevention of any other undesirable and damaging occurrence, is manifestly superior to their subsequent control. It is possible to prevent crime or delinquency in a variety of ways and settings. When a criminal is incarcerated or given the death penalty, he is prevented from committing other crimes for the duration of his sentence or forever, as appropriate. In reality, the purpose of all forms of punishment is to deter both present and potential criminals from committing crimes. In the current situation, however, criminologists employ the term prevention in a restricted sense, i.e., to forestall criminal behaviour through the proactive person and environmental alterations. In other words, prevention in this context includes attempts to strengthen family relationships, encourage better school adjustments, provide education and enjoyment geared to generate helpful and upright citizens, and utilise aids in the disciplines of social work, medicine, and psychiatry. Clearly, these programmes can be executed in civilizations that are at least moderately prosperous. In countries affected with widespread poverty, such as India, it is inevitable that the limitations of preventive programmes encountered elsewhere will present themselves more strongly. It follows from the explanation of the concept of crime prevention that programmes for the prevention of crime and delinquency should be directed not only to those who have already engaged in criminal behaviour sufficient to warrant the attention of law enforcement authorities, but also to those who have either exhibited some tendency to suggest possible delinquency in the future or who may be otherwise normal but due to individual or environmental factors are at risk of engaging in criminal behaviour. Though preventive programmes are not limited to juvenile delinquents, they are obviously more relevant and useful in the context of young people, given that the likelihood of a person becoming a criminal after a certain age, when values and attitudes are more or less set, is somewhat lower than in the case of individuals of immature age and comprehension.