NCJ Number
216922
Date Published
2006
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper provides basic information and discusses key concepts that can guide countries in pursuing "Crime Prevention in the Twenty-first Century," which was the theme of the 129th International Senior Seminar (January 11-February 9, 2005), where this paper was presented.
Abstract
The paper first examines how relatively recent social changes based in economic and employment trends in most countries have influenced crime trends. Attention is given to how technological and economic changes have impacted families and communities, which provide the core influences that mold normative behaviors and values. This section of the paper concludes by noting that the trends reviewed constitute a massive social transformation. Thinking about crime prevention in the 21st century must address the crime-related factors that have emerged from this transformation. The next section of the paper considers crime trends and crime-related issues. The focus is on recorded crime, detected crime, and known offenders in England and Wales from 1950 through 2002 compared with these data for Japan. The analysis notes that in both countries, a rapid increase in crime and decrease in crime detection is followed by a period of decreasing crime, albeit at different rates over time in the two countries. This suggests that over time the variables related to crime increases have changed in a manner favorable to law-abiding behavior. The third section of the paper examines the various crime-control policies that have emerged to address crime that has emerged in the course of the social transformation. This is followed by a discussion of theoretical issues related to contemporary crime prevention. The concepts discussed are the creation of environments of trust and the development of networks of public services and interagency cooperation that address social disorder. 15 figures