International Approaches to Crime Reduction

The pursuit of crime reduction is not the exclusive preserve of action by governments. Rather, it requires finding a balance between the protective efforts of individual citizens (and households) and collective action by government, from the local to the national or federal level. For some types of crime, such as cross-border trafficking, it may require international collaboration between countries through entities such as the International Criminal Police Organization or the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Policies to reduce crime can be aimed at dissuading individuals from being willing to commit crime (individual prevention), at making crime more difficult to commit (social prevention), or at some combination of the two. Crime prevention programs may aim to discourage children and young people from becoming involved ...