The concept of the crime prevention triangle simply states that in order for a crime to occur all three elements of the triangle must exist:
Desire, Ability and Opportunity
By eliminating any one of these elements a crime cannot occur. Let's look closer at each of these elements.
Desire
The desire of a criminal to commit a crime.
We as citizens can not effect or remove a criminals desire to commit a crime. If someone really wants to commit a crime they will.
Ability
The criminal's ability to commit a crime.
We can not effect the ability of a criminal to commit a crime. They will find a way. They can be thousands of miles away, use telephones, internet...Not even physical impairment will stop some from committing crimes.
Opportunity
The criminal's opportunity to commit crimes.
It is at this point that we can take the appropriate action to prevent crime. By removing the criminals opportunity for crime to occur through education, we have broken the "Crime Prevention Triangle" cycle.