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Year 7

What can communities do to help prevent crime?

I can explain what crime prevention strategies are and how communities use them to reduce crime and promote shared responsibility.

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New
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Year 7

What can communities do to help prevent crime?

I can explain what crime prevention strategies are and how communities use them to reduce crime and promote shared responsibility.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. There are different strategies that can be used to prevent crime, for example: educational, situational and deterrents.
  2. Educational crime prevention strategies reduce crime by educating people about the law and consequences of breaking it.
  3. Situational crime prevention strategies reduce crime by altering the situations in which crime can take place.
  4. Deterrents discourage people from committing crimes by making the consequences clear and the risks higher.
  5. Communities can use crime prevention strategies to reduce crime opportunities and foster shared responsibility.

Keywords

  • Crime - an illegal act that is punishable by law

  • Crime prevention strategy - a plan or set of actions designed to reduce the likelihood of crime occurring

  • Community - a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common

Common misconception

Only the police can prevent crime.

Communities can also play a key role by using strategies like education, situational changes and deterrents to reduce crime and promote safety.

Encourage pupils to think about real-world examples of crime prevention strategies in their own communities. This helps them connect the concepts to their lives and see the impact of community involvement in crime prevention.
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Teacher tip
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Equipment

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Complete the sentence: In England, information about youth crime goes from age up until the age of 17.
Correct Answer: 10, ten
Q2.
What am I describing? The different ways we share and receive information on a large scale; this includes things like television, radio, newspapers and the internet.
Correct Answer: media, the media
Q3.
Match the sentence starter to its end.
Correct Answer:The charity Nacro's report said that,media coverage of young people is twice as likely to be negative.
tick

media coverage of young people is twice as likely to be negative.

Correct Answer:If the police arrest someone under 18,they cannot interview them without an independent adult present.
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they cannot interview them without an independent adult present.

Correct Answer:The youth justice system treats,young people differently to adults.
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young people differently to adults.

Q4.
Which of the following is not one of the actions suggested by the Hertsmere Young Researchers to tackle negative media perception of young people and crime?
petition
create an event
Correct answer: host a press conference
create your own news source
Q5.
Who am I describing? A public force that helps keep the community safe; they work to prevent and investigate crimes, enforce laws and maintain order in society.
Correct Answer: the police , police, policemen and policewomen, police officers
Q6.
Which of the following are the three main police powers used to tackle crime?
surveillance, questioning and fines
Correct answer: stop and search, arrest and entry, search and seizure
patrolling, ticketing and warnings
investigation, interrogation and confiscation

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the sentence starter to the correct sentence end.
Correct Answer:Educational crime prevention strategies ,reduce crime by educating people about the law.
tick

reduce crime by educating people about the law.

Correct Answer:Situational crime prevention strategies ,reduce crime by altering the situations in which crime can take place.
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reduce crime by altering the situations in which crime can take place.

Correct Answer:Deterrent crime prevention strategies ,discourage people from crime by making the consequences clear.
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discourage people from crime by making the consequences clear.

Q2.
What am I describing? An illegal act that is punishable by law.
Correct Answer: A crime, Crime, Crimes
Q3.
What am I describing? A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.
Correct Answer: A community, Community, Communities
Q4.
Which of the following best describes how communities can use crime prevention strategies?
Communities can rely on law enforcement alone to reduce crime.
Correct answer: Communities can reduce crime by education, situational changes and deterrents.
Crime prevention is most effective when used by individuals rather than groups.
Crime prevention strategies are only relevant in large cities, not small towns.
Q5.
Which of the following statements is true regarding crime prevention?
Only the police can prevent crime in a community.
Correct answer: Communities can play a key role in reducing crime.
Crime prevention is only effective when carried out by law enforcement agencies.
Police efforts alone are enough to prevent all crime in a community.
Q6.
A youth mentoring programme could be an example of what type of crime prevention strategy?
Correct Answer: educational, education, educational strategy, education strategy