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Situational Crime Prevention Essay

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Situational Crime Prevention
Situational crime prevention constitutes primary crime prevention measure. This is to say that it is aimed at deterring crime before it occurs. Situational prevention, like other similar primary prevention measures, focuses on subduing crime opportunities instead of the attributes of criminals or even potential criminals. It seeks to curtail opportunities for certain groups of crime by increasing the risks and difficulties associated with them and significantly reducing the rewards. Situational prevention is made up of three key elements: a sound theoretical framework, an authoritative methodology for dealing with specific crimes, and a collection of opportunity-reducing approaches (Felson & Clarke, 1997). …show more content…

The reason Starbucks is constantly the arena of thefts is due to the fact that there are about forty three of its shops throughout the city.
There are however some measures that can be taken to stem this problem and reduce the frequency of theft in Starbucks premises (Welsh & Farrington, 2012). The first option would be to use vigilant security guards. While this might be a viable option in increasing the effort needed to commit the theft, employers should conduct thorough background check prior to employment. Although people may assume that security guards are honest fellows, the uniform and the badge should not attract such confidence as they may also collude with the thieves. It should be understood that while many uniformed guards are good and responsible men and women, some of them are not. This option will also derogate the Starbucks ambience.
A second option would be the less intrusive option of using of video surveillance. The use of video surveillance may be helpful. However, it may fail to curtail crime if constant monitoring is required and staff cannot do this. The successful use of video surveillance must be accompanied by the prosecution of offenders and the same be publicized to ascertain that the criminals’ perception of risk is altered.
A third option would be to provide an online item registration program that is linked to the police. This way, owners can register the details of their items like cellphones

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