Police Presence as a Crime Deterrence

Police Presence as a Crime Deterrence
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Introduction
The law enforcement agency (police department) is an essential section of the criminal justice system. As an agency of the judiciary, the policing department acts as a direct link between various arms of the government and the people as it enforces the laws made by the legislature and implemented by the executive. This study assesses the effectiveness of policing in hindering criminal activities by analyzing various studies conducted in different countries globally.
Crime and Policing
A crime is an activity or omission that, when committed or omitted, violates the constitutionally implemented laws, constituting an offense punishable by law. All criminal offenses and the punishment they attract are stipulated in the Penal (criminal) law. Crimes are categorized depending on their severity as felonies or misdemeanors. Although there are many distinct types of crimes, they are generally categorized into crimes against a person(s), incoherent crimes, crimes against property(s), statutory crimes, crimes against a state, organized crimes, and financial crimes. All these crimes threaten the peace, stability, and development of people and nations. Therefore, it is the government's mandate through its agencies to protect the law and those responsible for criminal violations are apprehended, prosecuted, and punished per the Penal law requirements. The government does so via the criminal justice system.
The criminal justice system is an aspect of social justice concerned with the violators of criminal law. It comprises various government agencies, including law enforcement, the court system, and correctional institutions that enforce the law, interpret it, and punish lawbreakers. The police are tasked with selectively enforcing the law, protecting the public by reducing fear of crime, arresting criminal suspects, efficiently investigating crimes, and presenting suspects and the facts in court. However, the primary role of law enforcement is to control and eventually reduce crimes. Policing enjoys wide public support as it is committed to reducing crimes. Multiple studies have revealed that the presence of police officers significantly hinders criminal activities and ultimately reduces the rates of victimization across the globe.
Policing can either be reactive (traditional) or proactive. Just like the name suggests, the former entails the response and reaction of the law enforcement agency. In reactive policing, police officers retain their impartiality by keeping their distance from the general public. Hence, they will only react when crimes have been committed, or the public has summoned them. Otherwise, law enforcement does not intrude. Additionally, police officers do not develop relationships with the public to prevent biases when responding to criminal incidents. The aim of reactive policing is to safeguard people from inordinately familiar and intrusive police. Reactive policing is made possible by motorized patrols, rapid response to a call, and retrospective crime investigations (follow-up investigations). All these have enhanced police responsiveness to criminal activities as police officers are directly ...