NCJ Number
106996
Journal
Indian Journal of Social Work Volume: 47 Issue: 3 Dated: (October 1986) Pages: 327-334
Date Published
1986
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Following a discussion of the difficulties inherent in analyzing the actual extent of crime and evaluating the effectiveness of crime prevention strategies, limitations on crime prevention planning in India are examined.
Abstract
In India, a social defense approach to planning has resulted in a lack of integration of crime prevention planning with more general national and State plans. This limitation has compartmentalized crime within the narrow confines of social problems and is based on unproved assumptions about crime causation. Similarly, too great a reliance on law enforcement services and surveillance ignores the influence of other factors on crime rates and the possibility that police work may only peripherally influence both crime and the tendency to imprison. Planning also is hampered by weak coordination of national and State policy and a lack of integration of criminology and policy. Finally, politicization and bureaucratization also limit effective planning. Thus, there is a need for change and flexibility within the criminal justice system, greater coordination and integration in planning and policy, and a move from a narrow law enforcement orientation to one addressing the broader issues of crime prevention.