Crime rates still exist despite the pandemic. Experts believe that the pandemic might have exacerbated the problem. As the economy stumbles, people become ever more desperate in gaining the funds they need to survive. Because of this, crime happens, creating a negative feedback loop that’s hard to ignore.
During the start of the pandemic, crime rates have received a severe drop. It’s believed that the main reason for this drop in crime rates is the strict quarantine procedures. There’s a cop in almost every street in every state, ensuring that people stay in their homes. However, after people have gotten used to this new normal, crime has returned, with stark increases in homicides and break-ins.
So what can you do to prevent this from happening in your home and your community?
Smart Devices at Home
One technological advancement we have received during the past few years is smart devices. There’s almost one for each purpose. One of the most important ones we currently have is smart security devices.
The security smart device industry is a billion-dollar one, and for a good reason: it addresses the reality of crimes in a meaningful and functional way. Traditional security measures such as wired fences and CCTVs are more of a deterrent than an accurate way to stop crime from happening in your home. We’ll explain more about that later. However, security smart devices are more than just a deterrent. They are a functional device that keeps crime away from your home and reacts appropriately when crime does happen.
Currently, smart devices can inform law enforcement groups with a silent alarm if there is a break-in. It can also blacklist people who you think are suspicious. It also helps monitor your homes for any unlawfulness that’s happening outside. So it’s both a deterrent and a protector from crime. A robust option in keeping your home safe from crime.
Neighborhood Watch
An excellent option to keep crimes at an all-time low in your neighborhood is through a neighborhood watch. Neighborhood watches are known to prevent crime from happening.
Studies have shown that neighborhood watches have been known to reduce crime rates drastically. A community with a functioning neighborhood watch can deter criminals from committing a crime, knowing that there’s someone out there to stop them. Of course, ongoing crime is a whole other story, but the watch functions the same, report the crime, and don’t stop it unless you have the means to do it. But there is one thing you shouldn’t do, and that is to give force multipliers to your neighborhood watch. This is known to cause more harm than good.
To start a neighborhood watch in your community, contact law enforcement groups in your area. They can provide the training you need for the people who have joined the watch. A good relationship with your local law enforcement group can certainly make a difference in protecting your community.
Deterrents
Deterrents are pieces of equipment that are known to prevent lowly crimes. They come in the form of barbed-wire fences, force multipliers such as guns, and CCTVs. These are all good ways to prevent crime, but they are not functional measures in keeping crime down.
Most likely than not, deterrents such as the ones above can provoke crime. Guns can be used to hurt others, barbed-wire fences can make people feel like they are cooped up, and CCTVs can lead to paranoia. It’s good to have some deterrents such as those, but overusing them can lead to dangerous circumstances. Make sure to inform people regarding these things before implementing them into your community.
Seminars
Lastly, it’s important to know more about what crimes exist in your neighborhood and what each civilian can do about it. Having a seminar regarding these things will help inform people. You should ask criminal lawyers to hold a seminar regarding crimes. General information like why criminals do it and how the community can prevent creating criminals will greatly impact people’s lives.
Knowledge is power when fighting against crimes in the neighborhood, and each crime and its perpetrator is unique from one another. This means that no one solution can fix all. But the more knowledge your neighborhood knows about the topic, the more likely they can prepare for it in the future.
We all know that crimes are bad, but people who do them aren’t inherently bad. As a community, it’s our job to protect our people from crime. As individuals, it is our duty to understand why crime happens and why people do it. By doing these things, we can live a much easier life.
