Crime control strategies: myth, magic and metaphor

The latest fad, gadget or gadget is not the basis for controlling crime. The coolest technique used in some great police dramas, however. Police communities cannot be fueled by polls, ratings, or media hype. We cannot tackle neighborhood crime problems by believing in myths, magic, or metaphors. And the magic of technology is only a small part of the crime-fighting landscape. There is no doubt that gadgets and gadgets are important. But, technology surveillance, in the real world, is only as good as the police who have the knowledge. Crime control strategies boil down to effective and efficient policing. This means the policeman on the street or in jail. The man or woman in the front, he or she is the people who really count. Effective police work requires competent police officers. To obtain them, you need high standards, effective recruitment, and exemplary training. Once at work, they need sufficient funding, resources, and leadership. After that, the ongoing criminal justice process relies on interagency cooperation and coordination. Within that framework, the police expect that there will be enormous competition and aggressive dedication on the part of prosecutors and judges. For some officers, that is a great illusion. But, in addition to politics, fighting crime means responding to crime with a variety of tactical and technical weaponry. Once in the process, identifying the criminal transforms the mission. Ultimately, ending their behavior, by safe and swift means, becomes the goal. Unfortunately, the target is tainted by misperceptions.

Sad but true, we are fooled by our own fantasies. In the process of fighting crime, the entertainment media pursue a relentless search for myth and magic. With the support of career-minded politicians, the metaphor becomes the expression of making myth and magic seem real. Reality blurs and merges with symbolism over substance. Misleading the public has potentially adverse consequences as it applies to the law enforcement function. People come to believe that surveillance is magic. And psychics, profilers, and crime-solving gurus step into action to protect us from the forces of evil. Through the sleight of hand, all of our criminal behavior problems are solved. Sleight of hand has become more effective in the modern information age. The American public relies heavily on the airways for all kinds of information. Many people shape their beliefs by what they see and hear from various media services. From movies to news reports, the public often assumes that the information they receive is based on fact and not fiction. Every day we are inundated with all kinds of tactics and techniques. However, the information is transmitted for entertainment purposes, not educational purposes. Lies, myths, and misconceptions become part of a process of transforming our reality into bits of sound or scenes from staged stories. The dividing line between entertainment and news merges with mass marketing and salesmanship. Using these media for mass dissemination, politicians, activists and retailers perform ingenious tricks of the trade to misinform and manipulate. The entertainment is presented as a disguise for sensationalism. Ratings and polls become the barometric pressure of success or failure in a media competition scenario.

Law enforcement is not immune to the bombardment of the media and politics. Good intentions disguised as myth, magic, and metaphor often seem to deceive us. Again, looking good, to bureaucrats, the media, and politicians, is better than being really good. Subsequently, our justice systems fail. Safe and speedy prosecution, conviction and punitive retribution do not reinforce the hard work done by the police. So if we are going to have an effective and efficient approach to crime control, then we will have to face reality. First, we have to find it. Second, we have to read between the lines separating the pages where myth and reality merge. Third, we have to be on guard against overzealous media, sensational film productions, and career-minded politicians. We also have to focus on recruiting, training and educating the best and brightest law enforcement officers. Once at work, we have to give them every possible resource available. In the meantime, we try to find exceptional leaders to lead them. In addition, controlling criminal behavior requires that we look at ourselves. From politics to the corporate boardroom, criminal behavior permeates all levels of society. Criminals are no different from the rest of us. In fact, we are.

At the local level, the need for exceptional training for law enforcement personnel is critical. Officers must be highly trained, educated, and well trained to deal with deviant antisocial behaviors. Crime, and the deviant behavior that accompanies it, is typically a local government problem. As a problem for the local community, the police must rely on the competence of local politicians. Definitely a terrifying thought. Elected officials in city councils, county commissions, etc., decide the budget processes. In many cases, local law enforcement depends on low wages and benefits, limited material resources, and a constant shortage of qualified personnel. Such limitations put pressure on the police services. Many of the problems relate to growth management issues. Growth management problems stem from political decisions. Criminals can easily find out how this works. The more you grow, the more material gain there is. And if, as you grow, you don’t plan the utility infrastructure, there is more to steal. In simple terms, budget constraints equate to less police and equipment, because that means more taxes to meet the demands for growth. Fewer police officers and teams mean fewer staff for street or jail duty. For criminals, poorly managed community growth and fewer police officers mean more opportunities to find vulnerable targets to express criminal behavior. The urbanization of the community, with sprawling shopping centers, miles of highways, and endless housing developments invite criminogenic problems. That’s because more properties and more people provide more opportunity targets.

As communities grow, with scarce public service resources, the local criminal justice system becomes bogged down. Crime control strategies become a matter of survival. In the confusion, we forget the basic reason why people commit crimes. People commit crimes because they want and what they want someone else has. There is no complicated formula, fashion, or fashion statement about it. Criminals believe only in what they need or want from others. Their relationships are based on what they can achieve. People who deviate from accepted ways know that the “system” will not move fast enough to intercept. They can rely on politicians to provide ‘equal opportunity’ environments.

Police services must be fully staffed and supported by professionals who expertly carry out the mission of police work. In this sense, there must be high standards and exceptional payments and benefits. In addition, all scientific and technological methods must be provided to local law enforcement agencies. High-quality personnel and equipment must be deployed in the local community. When a major incident occurs, the “first responders” are usually the local police officers. They are the ones with the primary responsibility for dealing with crimes, criminals, and crime scenes. Police officers need to have all the necessary resources available to them at all times. The police mission includes the need for crime control. Law enforcement operations are directed towards tactical and strategic considerations. To improve the safety and security of the community, aggressive patrol operations are needed. The police mission is tasked with hardening the targets of potential crime through early interdiction. Swift and decisive patrol actions provide a degree of deterrence from criminal activity. The law enforcement “crime fighting model”, or sometimes referred to as the “crime control model”, emphasizes the efficiency, effectiveness, detection and prevention of criminal behavior. Within this rubric there is no place for myth, magic and metaphor.

Control of crime is not the total responsibility of the police. Police officers are paid “professionals” who take on a certain level of responsibility for dealing with criminal activity. It is primarily the responsibility of each citizen to be informed and involved in the crime prevention and solution process. Citizens must support their police in every way possible, from funding to recruitment. Adequate staffing is one way to ensure that community efforts are directed toward community safety. Crime prevention, criminal activity detection, and deviant behavior control become successful through cooperative efforts. The patrol force is the key mechanism by which the community engages in crime control efforts. No other aspect of law enforcement is more important or more critical than patrol operations. The patrol is the “strike force” that is designed to deal with criminal behavior. In every sense of the word, the patrol is the “backbone” of law enforcement. Aggressive patrol operations are essential to the safety and well-being of the community. With this effort, crime control strategies require education, training, skills, practical knowledge and experience among professionals.

Controlling crime requires a complete review of thinking. We have to stop blurring reality between the real and the real. Criminals are like us. They commit crimes because that is what they want to do. Controlling crime means controlling ourselves. Designing communities with that in mind directs us toward eliminating opportunities for crime to occur. To ensure the inclusion of adequate safeguards and preventive measures, a sufficient number of well-trained officers must be available. Furthermore, law enforcement cannot be stifled by political influence. Everyone should be treated equally, regardless of who they are or who they know. The myth should be left to philosophy. Magic should stay in the circus. And the metaphor must remain within the limits of great literature. So as a community, let’s stop the sensationalism and start the seriousness. Crime can be controlled.

References

http://www.radfordreviews.com/cgi-bin/about.cgi from Benjamin Radford’s book, Media Myth Makers, Prometheus Books, 2003;

[http://www.rppi.org/newurbancrime.shtml]

http://members.cox.net/samenow/conceptapril_06.html

Jeffery, CR Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1971), page 54;