Short Assignment #2 Andi Ramires Castillo

Can police tactics deter crime? I believe crimes can be prevented by using these strategies like police presence police, surveillance, gun detectors, and speed cameras can overall prevent crimes due to criminals having rational thoughts. Having these elements placed in our neighborhood can contribute to crime decreasing. In the following essay, I will demonstrate the tools used in my neighborhood that help our community be safe and deter criminals from committing crimes. My neighborhood has a hot spot where gang violence takes place which is why police presence is placed, It eliminates the gathering on corners and the drugs being sold on that corner. The section I will be discussing is the Fordham Area, The street named Valentine Avenue.

This is a surveillance/Gunshot detector anytime there is a shooting this technology allows police to detect and locate firearm discharges. This can deter criminals from shooting one another due to the high risk of being caught which can lower gun violence. Police can respond to incidents within minutes, potentially saving lives and minimizing the chances of shooters escaping the scene. In my opinion, this itself does not prevent shootings but it definitely lowers the chances of a shooting happening the rational choice theory can be applied to this scenario, the shooter might think of the potential chances of getting caught or the reward and punishment if caught. The area where this was placed was a hot spot for shootings, and gang violence committed by the “Blood Hound” gang. After this was placed the shootings in the area decreased.

Speeding is very dangerous this action can cause innocent deaths and your own death as well. Placing speeding cameras around my neighborhood was a good thing due to the high collisions happening at a cross intersection it deteriorated speeding. Many drivers think it might be fun to go fast but in reality, you putting civilians in dangerous situations also children who go to school alone might be affected by the actions of a driver speeding through red lights and going more than 25mph on roads. This is another Rational choice theory having a speeding camera will have a significant impact on drivers, due to the risk of getting caught they are more likely to follow street signs and obey driving rules. In my opinion, I think this tool is helpful, I live in the Bronx and I’ve noticed that there is a lot of speeding going on, on a 25mph road I feel better knowing this speedmeter can help deter this common problem that floods our neighborhood. Many may find it less important but if you really think about it this problem is very problematic and serious it causes accidents and many fatalities. Every other day there was an accident due to reckless driving the resolution was placing this speedometer.

Police presence can also be a useful strategy to lessen crime activity in our neighborhood. This is a picture I took around my area. This police cruiser is policing and keeping the area safe. This is considered a guardian that will discourage criminals from committing any type of crime due to rational thinking. If criminals see that there is a guardian they will not commit crimes like robberies or assaults. In my opinion, I feel safer knowing I can count on a police officer if I’m in need of any assistance. The neighborhood is safer as well. We can walk peacefully without feeling scared to step out of our homes. Also, police being stationed here can help emergency be responded to quickly. The reason for this was due to the high violence from gangs and random assaults.

Imagine a world with no law and order like police or tools that help prevent criminals from committing crimes. The violence in our neighborhood would flood our streets, and deaths from speeding and shootings will sky-rocket. This would be a societal issue that would impact every single person, Due to no guardians like police it would be easy to commit crimes. Criminals would be less likely to get caught which will influence criminals to act on crimes due to high rewards with no punishment. In order to keep our streets safe our Gov. places new tactics to help our community feel safe and help prevent crimes from occurring.