NCJ Number
118468
Journal
Research Bulletin Issue: 24 Dated: Special Issue (1987) Pages: 5-8
Date Published
1987
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Crime prevention in Europe has seen a shift from reliance on the traditional mechanisms of the formal criminal justice system to a growth in techniques of local control based on the voluntary participation of citizens in activities perceived as crime prevention.
Abstract
Long prison sentences and incapacitation are still the U.S. method of choice in crime control. British criminology has tended to look up to the United States for guidance, although the United States has not been notably successful in controlling crime. Britain's European neighbors have been more successful in creating stable and ordered societies through the formation of community structures, institutions, and influences that reduce criminogenic factors and foster normative socialization among the young. European crime prevention has also focused on reduction in the opportunities for crime by encouraging citizens to assume responsibility for residential security and surveillance. The formal criminal justice system remains as a backup to community crime prevention initiatives but it is not the frontier or the cutting edge of effective crime control. 6 references.