?Critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of controlling crime at the community level? The philosophical term community crime control refers to the techniques used by local members of a community. They work alongside the police to keep their local area and neighbourhood safe through education on crime prevention. There are many ways in which community crime control (CCC) can be enforced, in this essay I will be critically analysing the strengths and weaknesses of controlling crime at a community level. The main aim of community crime control is to empower groups such as neighbourhood watch, street watcher and surveillance. They challenge on going criminal activity but unlike the police they strive to prevent crime before it becomes an issue in their community. With the rise of Tony Blair as prime minster in 1997 came a whole array of new policies that shook the image of the previous Labour party. The Labour government changed the way they tackled deviant and criminal behaviour, by putting in place the ‘Local partnership’ approach in conjunction with local authorities. Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBO) were one type of social control, where by banning criminals and misfits from a particular area usually this is where they committed the deviant act; Consequently reducing the amount of criminality in that area. Yates (2007) has stated that “the powers of the Anti-social behaviour act has become a key feature of policing and criminal justice practice in England a Wales extending forms of control over aspects of young people’s lives which were affected but not routinely subject to legislate censure.” With young people between the ages of 14- 25 years old committing the majority of crimes, parenting orders came into play. This order emphasized that informal social controls needed to be applied by parents to control misbehaving children. This not only affected unruly children and young adults but also their parents. It aimed to punish for infringements such as children not attending school, by means of fines and imprisonment for the parents. The shift from a ‘nanny’ state to a more ‘individualistic’ one whereby everyone takes care of themselves financially, have full responsibility for their own families and local community’s actions began. These sanctions were not only upheld by official police offices but also through the visual surveillance of their parents, who acted as a ‘neighbourhood watch’ inside the home. The electrical surveillance industry is a muti-million pound industry in the United Kingdom. It is designed to be used in environments where criminality occurs but also to deter criminal behaviour in areas under surveillance. CCTV does this in three main ways; firstly, it increases the threat of offenders being identified. Secondly, alerting the police to the where about of criminal movements and finally collecting evidence either by the police CCTV or home surveillance which can then be used in a court of law. As much as CCTV surveillance claims to cut down the level of crime through deterrence, there has been little to no evidence that displays a dramatic level to which it has reduced crime. More worrying, is the increase in CCTV camera over recent years; ultimately bring with it a number of ethical issues. The aim of CCTV cameras is to prevent criminal activity, however what about the everyday law abiding citizens who are having their privacy intruded upon. CCTV technology is misused every day without our consent. There are