20 Essay Topics on Crime Prevention Based on Social Science

Social science is the scientific study of human society and relationships among the individuals that make up a society. In the context of crime prevention, social science studies attempts to study what pushes criminal activities and how the society we live in can be structured to prevent crimes by eliminating the triggers that leads to criminal intent or reactions. This is indeed possible and has facts backing the importance of social science in preventing crimes.

This subject matter can be quite difficult to write about if one does not have good research skills or the patience to learn. Therefore, an assignment on this could be difficult but we are here to show that this should not be so. In this article—which is a follow up on the 10 facts on social science and crime prevention — 20 social science essay topics will be provided for your choosing pleasure. One of these topics will also be written on to provide you with some direction on how to go about writing on the topic you choose. So below are the 20 topics you can choose from to kick-start your own project.

20 Social Science Topics on Preventing Crime:

The Importance of Stable Family Structures in Preventing Crime
Reducing Teenage Delinquency Rates and Crime in Today’s Society
The Fallacy of Incarceration as an Effective Crime Prevention Technique
Integrating Risk Prevention Techniques to Combat Adolescent Criminal Behavior
Identifying and Understanding the Key Risk Factors Prevalent in Human Beings
Parental Education and its Effects on Reducing Criminal Activities
Women Education and Its Role in Crime Prevention
Early Child Education and Its Role in Reducing Adolescent Crime
How Integrating Civil Laws in Society Prevents Crime
Crime Prevention and the Role of Structural Growth
The Effects of Local Watches in Preventing Crime
Encouraging Social Awareness to Reduce Criminal Activities
Mental Health and Its Correlation with Criminal Activity
Managing Society’s Mental Health Problems Key to Reducing Violent Crimes
Tackling Unemployment an Effective Tool to Preventing Crime
Creating Economic Opportunities, Preventing Criminal Activities
The Implementation of Intervention Techniques in Preventing Criminal Activity
Pursuing Equality Reforms as a Crime Prevention Technique
Perusing Society’s Role in Preventing Criminal Activities
The Science of Youth Violence Prevention: Progressing from Developmental Epidemiology to Efficacy

Sample Essay: The Importance of Stable Family Structures in Preventing Crime

The 17^th century saying that the family is the building block of society still rings true to date and consequently, the foundation of every Nation both developed and underdeveloped rests squarely on the strength of its families. Therefore, there is much to learn from the stability of family structures and the effect they have in preventing crimes. My essay is written to provide information on what is known and how stable families prevent criminal activities.

The role of the family in the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency has been studied for decades by social scientists and the office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). These studies culminated in findings that showed the effects of both a good family structure and a non-existent structure drives delinquent behavior and criminal activities.

The home is the first school for children and it serves as a classroom where manners, etiquettes, society’s rules and behavioral patterns are ingrained in a child. Therefore, children end up becoming by-products of the home they grew up in. Studies from the OJJDP has shown that kids who have been exposed to negative influences in childhood tend to act out these influence in their later years which makes it imperative to create an enabling environment that allows each family fulfill its potential. The study went further to state that kids from at risk homes—unstable families, single parent homes, drug abusers etc.—are three times more likely to be involved in criminal behavior later in life.

These negative behaviors which affect governance in the long run can be forestalled by creating conducive familial environment which means the government has a role to play in propagating stable family units. The first step to be taking is creating employment opportunities for adults who intend to create families. This productivity helps both the government and family unit by developing productive citizens and family heads with the finances needed to cater to family needs.

Educating parents is also a technique that can be used in building stable family units. It is important to start the educative process from the postnatal period right down to the first two years after childbirth. A study conducted by the Nurse-Family Partnership Program showed that expecting families who took part in such programs were less likely to be involved with any forms of child abuse when compared to others who did not. While on the children’s side, a stable family unit where parental supervision and involvement help kids grow-up to become functioning members of society. This is because parents notice negative factors and influences in their kids’ life and take the necessary steps to check those behavioral patterns before they spiral out of control.

Getting parenting and the family unit right is definitely the first step to preventing crimes and grooming responsible citizens in a society. Achieving this requires the education of parents and creating an environment where parents can raise their kids to be responsible and understand that they are accountable for their actions.

Here we come to the end of the second article providing you with essay topics on crime prevention. To learn more about writing and reviewing literature on crime prevention, check out this follow-up article on how to write a perfect article review on social science and crime prevention.

References:
Brandon, W. (2012). The Future of Crime Prevention: Developmental and Situational Strategies. http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/people/academic_research/david_farrington/nijprev.pdf
Jeffery, R. (1977).Crime Prevention through Environmental Design 50, 60.
Farrington, D. & Sherman, W. (2001). Costs and Benefits of Preventing Crime. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Wilson, D., Gottfredson, C., & Najaka, S. (2001). School-based Prevention of Problem Behaviours: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 17, 247-272.
Canepple, S. (2008). Organized Crime, Corruption and Crime Prevention.
Fisher, B. (2010). Encyclopaedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention.
Henze, S. (2006). Crime science: New Approaches to Preventing and Detecting Crime.