In everyday language, crime is any unlawful activity that is prohibited by a state or the authorities of a country. Actions are classified as a crime by federal law and comprise of activities that are harmful to the society or nation.
Specialized law enforcement agencies are responsible for detecting and preventing crime through investigations, trials, and rehabilitation of criminals. On the other hand, the community is responsible for the identification and reporting of activities that may be categorized as a crime. For an action to be classified as a crime, it must comprise of sufficient evidence and must be listed under the criminal code depending on the type of crime committed.
Crime Prevention
Crime prevention is the recognition, anticipation, identification of crime risk, and the initiation of necessary actions to reduce the instance of the crime from happening. It refers to activities that are taken by the community and the law enforcement agencies to detect the likelihood of crime occurrence and the actions taken to prevent the crime from happening.
Public awareness of crime is necessary for efficient crime risk reduction as members of the community are supposed to report incidences of crime to law enforcement agencies. The essential information required to prevent crime are; where the crime is likely to happen, what crime is expected to happen, and the participants of the crime.
Crime Detection
Crime detection is a process that is comprised of three phases. The three stages of detecting crime include the discovery of a committed crime, identification of suspects, and the gathering of evidence sufficient to charge the suspects in a court of law.
1) Discovery of a Committed Crime
During this process, incidences of crime might either be reported by members of the community, by a close relative of the victims, by a friend or by the victim may report the occurrence of crime to law enforcement agencies. Detectives and other law enforcement officers are supposed to show up at the crime scene to interview witnesses, collect evidence, and additional relevant information that may lead to arresting and charging the criminal court.
2) Identification of Suspect
The police and other law enforcement detectives have first to identify the criminal suspect. Certain instances require law enforcement agencies to do in-depth investigations to identify the suspect. In other cases, the suspects are either caught in the act of crime or are reported by potential witnesses.
Advanced forensic techniques such as DNA and fingerprint scanning are used to identify suspects thoroughly. Upon the identification of a suspect, it is the role of the law enforcement agencies to issue warranty of arrest and track down the suspect with the help of the community.
3) Gathering of Evidence
Evidence in a crime scene is any physical or argument proof that establishes legal interpretation facts that justify that a crime was committed. Evidence can include; material objects, DNA, fingerprints, oral statements, written documents, and other relevant information. Gathering of proof in a crime scene is vital as it allows law enforcement agencies to charge suspects in a court of law.
In conclusion, the prevention and detection of crime depend on the communication between the community and law enforcement agencies. Community awareness of crime is necessary for reducing criminal activity because they are supposed to help law enforcement agencies by reporting incidences.