What is Crime Prevention?
Crime Prevention is the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk, and the initiation of action to remove or reduce it.
Crime Prevention is an active approach utilizing public awareness and preventive measures to reduce crime.
Crime Prevention reflects a philosophy of self-defense where the police and the community take action before crimes are committed.
Crime Preventions programs will reduce crime, stimulate public awareness concerning crime prevention and enhance our communities.
Crime prevention works. It is cheaper, safer, and healthier for communities to prevent crime than to have to treat its victims, deal with its perpetrators, and lose civic health and productivity.
But the responsibility of crime prevention doesn’t fall on one person – it’s everyone’s business. Law enforcement agencies, however, often are the focal point in community crime prevention.
This can be beneficial to prevention efforts because these law enforcement officers:
Know what crime is happening, where it is happening, and by whom
Have the expertise to stop crime before it happens
Can bring community members, police departments, and government officials together
The New York State Police Mission is to serve, protect, and defend the people while preserving the rights and dignity of all. A priority in our mission is to prevent crime and enforce the law. The State Police had a responsibility to protect people and property, to prevent and detect crime and other violations of law, pursue criminal investigations, and arrest criminals.