In crime prevention, hardening targets refers to which practice?

• A. Increasing penalties after crimes occur.
• B. Reducing community involvement.
• C. Securing entry points to reduce vulnerability.
• D. Expanding parking facilities.

Answer: (C)

Hardening targets is about reducing opportunities for crime by making potential targets harder to attack. The core idea is to secure what a criminal would try to access—doors, windows, entryways, and other access points—so that gaining unauthorized entry becomes more difficult, time-consuming, or risky. When you reinforce entry points with solid locks, reinforced frames, controlled access, proper lighting, alarms, and surveillance, you raise the effort and risk for a would-be offender, which lowers the chance of a successful crime. This is a proactive, prevention-focused approach that changes the target itself to deter crime before it happens. The other options describe post-crime penalties, reduced community guardianship, or unrelated facility changes, none of which directly reduce vulnerability by hardening a target.