Student 1) Although multiple types of prevention strategies were discussed in chapter 5, I found the most interesting strategy to be associated with Cloward and Ohlin's differential opportunity theory (Riedel & Welsh, 2016, pg. 96). This suggests that crimes occur due to the inability to support oneself through legitimate means. Being that one has to support themself regardless of their current situation, it is going to happen no matter what. If there is no legitimate way to 'make ends meet,' an illegitimate course (such as robbery) will occur. Knowing this, certain strategies were put into place to circumvent crimes, such as robbery, from occurring. Initially, I really liked this way of thinking... it seems proactive. Other strategies, such as target hardening through the use of surveillance cameras, limiting cash on hand, reducing obstruction of windows and educating potential victims, don't seem to tackle the real issue; crimes, such as robbery, are occurring for a reason, so rather than making robbery a harder crime to commit and/or a less appealing crime to commit, why not stop robbery from happening in the first place? (Riedel & Welsh, 2016, pg. 104). Robbery has also been proven to most likely occur as a means to obtain cash quickly (Riedel & Welsh, 2016, pg. 100). With this knowledge, it seems clear cut: remove the need for quick cash and subsequently, the consequence of this need, robbery, should reduce. Prevention strategies that take differential theory into consideration have been implemented, especially during the Johnson presidency (Riedel 7 Welsh, 2016, pg. 96). The War on Poverty is a popular example, where job training and community resource centers were implemented in high risk areas. As organized and well thought out as this sounds, it obviously did not work to the extent in which many were hoping. Current prevention strategies, such as mandatory minimum sentences and state recommended security measures have mixed results in terms of success (Riedel & Welsh, 2016, pg. 104-105). I am inclined to once again argue that these prevention strategies don't prevent enough, meaning that they do not take into account the larger issue at hand. Is it realistic to be hopeful that a large social issue, such as poverty, can be confronted in hopes of reducing crimes like robbery? The multiple theories discussed in chapter 5 illuminate the many different factors that lead to crimes being committed, so perhaps a combination of proactive policing and reactive policing is needed to fully capture the issue at hand. Works Cited: Riedel, M., & Welsh, W. N. (2016). Criminal violence: Patterns explanations, and interventions. New York: Oxford University Press. Student 2) Crime prevention and reduction are two important factors that law enforcement officials must take into consideration each day that they are on the job. In order to "protect and serve" the community, agencies are expected to take the correct measures to do so for the citizens of their community. Law enforcement agencies implement different intervention strategies to prevent or reduce crimes in their jurisdiction. Specific to the crime of robbery, prevention and reduction is extremely critical. An appropriate intervention strategy that may be used by officials to prevent or reduce robberies would be to provide more of a police presence. As stated in the module powerpoint, "Increased police presence can reduce robberies" (Chapter 5). Although offenders may just move to less targeted location, this intervention would work in the correct areas. It would be imperative that police are strategically placed in high risk communities, that way the intervention would actually be productive. The effects that a stronger police presence may have on the rates of robbery could include lessened cases, different locations being targeted, and even violence possibly occurring. If all were to work out well, the robbery cases would go down with the police presence in high risk communities However, a criminal may not allow this to stop them. It would be likely for a robber to move to a new location with less police around, or they may even become violent or find new tactics to still break in in the area they intended. Robbery is a crime that is highly feared in our country, and law enforcement should continue working towards strategies that will positively intervene with the crime. References: Module 5 (2021). CRIMINAL VIOLENCE. PATTERNS, EXPLANATIONS, AND INTERVENTIONS. Retrieved from: CCJ4623_Sullivan_CH05_122729 UppDate.pptx