NCJ Number
138175
Date Published
1985
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This report presents the steps taken in the formulation of draft guiding principles for crime prevention and criminal justice at the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held in Milan, Italy, from August 26 through September 6, 1985; The draft resolution and guiding principles are provided as well.
Abstract
The objective of the new guiding principles is to provide a more solid basis for action at various levels--national, regional, and interregional--in the production of harmonious, equitable development and social justice for all through a set of standards that will promote effective and coherent crime prevention and criminal justice policies based on respect for human rights and human dignity. By establishing an integrated framework for crime prevention and criminal justice in the context of overall development planning, the principles aim, among other things, at helping to reduce the social and material costs of crime. Simultaneously, they are sufficiently flexible to allow for adjustments to changing needs and specific socioeconomic and cultural circumstances, as well as to national requirements and priorities. The principles reflect the aspirations of the world community to eliminate economic inequality and the widening gap between the developed and developing countries and to ensure more equitable economic and social development, peace, and justice for the present and future generations. The principles also underline the quest for social justice for all people, which would permit all groups to become full partners in the development process and recipients of its benefits. Using the new forms and dimensions of criminality and crime prevention in the wider context of socioeconomic development, the principles emphasize that crime can no longer be considered only a local concern, but rather constitutes a global problem whose prevention and control require a commitment at all levels.