Problem Solution Essay Example: Crime Rates in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Hot Springs has one of the highest crime rates in the United States compared to communities of all sizes and has a similar amount of violent crimes as Albany, New York despite the large gap in the populations (2022 Compare Crime Rates). The great amount of crime in the generally small city of Hot Springs, Arkansas, raises major alarms and shows that something must be done to lower the number of crimes in the city. The best option to quickly and efficiently reduce crime numbers without using a large amount of state government money is by providing more police patrol because a federal grant was given to the city for that exact reason.

Despite being a very popular tourist destination and being home to Hot Springs National Park, Hot Springs, Arkansas has a very high crime rate in proportion to its generally small population. Hot Springs has been recognized by USA.com as having the sixth-highest crime rate on the Arkansas Crime Index (Arkansas Crime Index City Rank). According to NeighborhoodScout.com, “One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 15.” Hot Springs is in the top one percent of the most unsafe cities in Arkansas (Schiller). Action must be taken by the Hot Springs community and the Hot Springs Police Department to lower these troubling statistics.

One of the most practical and well-known efforts used to reduce crime levels is by offering tips to the public to prevent and de-escalate attacks. Some programs that are in use today include “Lock it or Lose it”, “Cool Down Hot Springs”, and “Protect Safe Neighborhoods” (Cool Down Hot Springs; Lock it or Lose it; Monaco). The estimated cost to promote these programs is dependent on the type of promotion used. With the use of billboards is a minimum of seven hundred and fifty dollars per billboard while the use of a thirty-second television advertisement averages at about one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars (Main). The use of these programs would give useful information to the public to protect the safety of their belongings and themselves, as well as de-escalating risky situations. 

Increasing law enforcement in high-risk areas is another way that crime levels could be reduced. An augmentation of police patrol in hot-spot areas such as the city center and Euclid Heights could significantly reduce the amount of crime simply by general surveillance (Schiller). Along with integrating greater police patrol, the introduction of community policing is another simple, yet effective, option (Lopez). The cost of additional police officers has already been funded by a Federal grant specifically given to allow “agencies to hire 1,066 additional full-time law enforcement professionals.” The fund granted the city of Hot Springs six-hundred twenty-five thousand dollars for law enforcement personnel (Ellis). The use of more police patrol and community policing will create a safer public environment not only for violent crimes and property crimes but also for smaller crimes such as petty theft and vandalism.

An option that likely goes unconsidered in the reduction of crimes is the mental health of criminals. Research conducted by KiDeuk Kim, Miriam Becker-Cohen, and Maria Serakos shows that 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners, and 64 percent of local jail inmates have some form of mental illness or disorder (Kim et al.). This study also suggests that the lack of proper mental health resources for inmates only causes more problems for those individuals during and after incarceration. It is suggested that more consideration be taken when it comes to prisoners’ mental health and the prescription medication and therapy that it may entail. The estimated cost of mental health service in prison for one year is about one-hundred-fifty million in the entire state of Arkansas (Metzger). It is unlikely that mental health resources would be offered unless being statewide. Though mental health is rather important, mental illnesses or disorders do not justify criminal behaviors unless ruled so by a jury as insanity.

Out of these few options, the best course of action is increasing police surveillance in hot spots and interpreting community policing in the city of Hot Springs. Providing more police surveillance in the city hot spots will likely lower offenders' ability to commit heinous acts without being caught. Incorporating community policing will also help to lower the number of petty crimes, hopefully preventing the culprit from committing more violent crimes. The cost of increasing law enforcement officers is covered by the federal grant given to the Hot Springs Police Department by the U.S. Department of Justice in November of 2021 (Ellis).

Due to the troubling statistics in Hot Springs, action must be taken to prevent and lower crime rates in the city. To do so, the Hot Springs Police Department should increase the number of patrol officers in dangerous areas and interpret community policing across the city. Along with being the most efficient option, it is also the cheapest due to the grant that was given to the Hot Springs Police Department.

Works Cited

Metzger, James. A Brief Cost Analysis of Arkansas Mental Health and Prison Reform. Arkansas Public Policy Panel, 2015. file:///C:/Users/student/Downloads/Mental+Health+Report.pdf, PDF download.

Kim, KiDeuk, et. al. The Processing and Treatment of Mentally Ill Persons in the Criminal Justice System. Urban Institute, 2015. www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/48981/2000173-The-Processing-and-Treatment-of-Mentally-Ill-Persons-in-the-Criminal-Justice-System.pdf, PDF download.

Lopez, German. “6 Proven Policies for Reducing Crime and Violence Without Gun Control.” Vox, 15 Feb. 2016, www.vox.com/2016/2/15/10981274/crime-violence-policies-guns. 

Ellis, Dale. “Federal grants to Helena-West Helena, Hot Springs will fund 15 additional police officers.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 21 Nov 2021.

Main, Kelly. “Everything You Need to Know About TV Advertising Costs.” Fit Small Business, 21 Jan 2021, fitsmallbusiness.com/tv-advertising/#:~:text=Average%20TV%20Ad%20Broadcasting%20Costs,averaged%20around%20%24115%2C000%20in%202020. 

“Arkansas Crime Index City Rank.” USA Location Information- USA.Com, World Media Group, www.usa.com/rank/arkansas-state--crime-index--city-rank.htm. Accessed 25 Jan 2022.

“Cool Down Hot Springs.” Hot Springs, AR- Official Website, CivicPlus, 14 Aug 2019, www.cityhs.net/736/6897/Cool-Down-Hot-Springs?activeLiveTab=widgets. 

“Lock it or Lose it.” Hot Springs, AR- Official Website, CivicPlus, 14 Aug 2019, www.cityhs.net/737/6899/Lock-it-or-Lose-it?activeLiveTab=widgets. 

Schiller, Andrew. Hot Springs, AR Crime Rates and Statistics, NeighborhoodScout, 8 Dec 2021, www.neighborhoodscout.com/ar/hot-springs/crime#description. 

Monaco, Lisa, United States, Department of Justice, Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime. Government Printing Office, 2021. 

2022 Compare Crime Rates: Hot Springs, AR vs Albany, NY. BestPlaces, 2022, www.bestplaces.net/crime/?city1=50533400&city2=53601000. Accessed 27 Jan 2022.