Concept, System and Principles of Crime Prevention

This article raises two main questions. The first concerns the current idea that punishment ‒ conceived as the loss of liberty ‒ has an effect in preventing unlawful behaviour. It can be shown that, in general, sanctions have a poor individual preventive effect. As to general prevention, punishment may be expected to have a deterrent effect when the unlawful behaviour is the result of a rational decision, that is, a decision based on a cost-benefit analysis. However, a wide variety of factors, from group support to situational and systemic factors, may very well counteract the threatening effect of the sanction. The second question concerns the crime control model focusing on having an efficient system, with the most important function control crime to ensure that society is safe and there is public order. Under this model, controlling crime is more important to individual freedom. This model is a more conservative perspective to protect society and make sure individuals feel free from the threat of crime. The results of this research underline the necessity for new concepts, including situational crime prevention, that must be accommodated within the academic and political discourses on crime control