The Nature of Preventive Criminology Volume 4 - Issue 3

Hassan Mohammadi Nevisi*

• Associate Professor, SMC University, Switzerland

Received: September 19, 2022;   Published: September 26, 2022

*Corresponding author: Hassan Mohammadi Nevisi, Associate Professor, SMC University, Switzerland

DOI: 10.32474/PRJFGS.2022.04.000193

 

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Abstract

Preventive criminology observes proactive measures (prior) before the crime or even reactive (post) measures after the occurrence of criminal behavior by criminal policy agents at both national and transnational levels. These actions are basically without criminal description. Sometimes crime prevention is based on the need to change and adjust the criminal’s personality and social conditions, which is known as “social prevention”. Sometimes, preventing the occurrence or repetition of a criminal phenomenon (both crime and deviance) requires intervention and change in a special environment or situation. This type of action is called “situational prevention”. A type of prevention is early prevention or growth-oriented prevention, which indicates intervention in different periods of the development of children who are delinquent, deviant, or prone to delinquency in order to prevent the occurrence or chronicity of delinquency in the future and during adulthood. But sometimes prevention (from a medical point of view) is divided into three categories: primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention.

Keywords: Criminology; crime; crime prevention; preventive criminology

Introduction

Preventive criminology, which is one of the important branches of applied criminology, was specifically taken into consideration in order to solve the limitations of general prevention, based on deterring punishment from intimidation and learning lessons. The initial origin of this branch of prevention goes back to the thoughts of Enrico Ferri, an Italian sociologist. After verifying the lack of effectiveness of general punishment prevention, Frey proposed a set of prevention measures outside the penal system under the title of alternatives to punishment or, the equivalent of punishment. This new branch of criminology was then approved and expanded from the early 1930s in the light of the studies of criminal sociology by some professors at the University of Chicago and more seriously in the 1960s.

Today, in the literature of criminology, the definition of the term crime prevention is a developed and specific definition in this field of studies. Of course, it goes without saying that the emergence of this field of study has led to the fact that there are several definitions of crime prevention and there are as many definitions as there are authors who have sought to define this concept. In order to gain the concept and understanding of the position of this branch of criminology, it is appropriate to examine the theoretical data in criminology theories in a short article and from this approach to understand the scope and functions of crime prevention [1].

The necessity of this category is felt due to the fact that human society is full of all kinds of crimes; Crimes against property and persons, most of which are in the form of theft, murder, domestic violence, and crimes against public safety and comfort are among these crimes. Also, the crime of terrorism and transnational organized crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking are among the crimes that are destroying the foundations of the penal system in our world today. The possibility of resorting to prevention is not accepted and approved by all criminological theories. For example, we will examine some theoretical data related to prevention in order to better analyze the possibility of prevention in criminological theories.

Prevention in Marxist Thought

Marxists believe that crime is an inseparable part of the capitalist system and if preventive measures are taken in capitalist societies, it is nothing but an attempt to control the labor force and the working class in order to continue the domination of capitalism. Based on this, such a society will not be free from crime, because crime is created by capitalist governments and criminalization has a class aspect and is a tool to support these classifications. Therefore, crime prevention has a structural aspect, and it is after the collapse of the capitalist system and the replacement of the socialist and communal system that crime disappears [2].

Prevention in the Realist School and the Theory of Rationality of Crime

In criminology inspired by the realist school, while believing in determinism, the cause of crime is considered to be the biologicalpsychological- social organization of individuals. In this view, criminals are a group of people with special biological-psychological characteristics who are condemned to commit crimes because of the differences between these people and normal people. These differences include the existence of numerous physical signs and psychological behaviors that are similar to the fact that the survivors of early humans are not able to adapt themselves in an advanced civilization and therefore remain incompatible. The determinism hypothesis, which was proposed by the Italian criminologist and criminal anthropologist Cesare Lombroso, was of the opinion that there is a close relationship between a person’s physical defects and genetic factors and the commission of a crime by him.

This hypothesis is rejected by the theory of rational choice of crime, and if the realist school did not consider a place for prevention, this theory gives a very wide place to crime prevention. This theory believes that the criminal’s action is a calculated action and a means to achieve his goal. Therefore, he uses situations and opportunities and also takes necessary precautions in order to avoid excessive risks. So, keeping in mind the state of the crime, it is possible to predict the possible reaction of potential criminals. In this way, situational prevention was born from the combination of empirical considerations and theoretical considerations about the rationality of criminal acts.

This view of prevention emphasizes that it is possible to influence the decision of potential criminals through action in situations and situations. According to Raymond Gessen’s definition of situational prevention: “Situational prevention is a change in certain situations in which the probability of committing a crime is high, in order to make it difficult, risky or less attractive for those who intend to commit a crime”. This prevention strategy originates from the thought that many potential criminals are not incapable of adapting to situations and behave rationally when faced with the possibility of crime [3]. Therefore, by changing crime situations, it brings them closer to accepting the fact that the benefits of not committing a crime in the new situation are greater than committing it. In fact, instead of investing in people not being prone to delinquency, with the help of special measures through intervention in situations, the decision of delinquents can be easily overshadowed.

Prevention in Crime Risk Management Theory

Proponents of new criminology or justice metrics (estimated or calculating justice) with their supervisory, control, management and economic view of crime and criminals, believe that it will not be possible to completely eliminate crime, but that this problem should be reduced to a tolerable level for Society reduced. In this regard, according to Philippe Marie (researcher at the Criminological Research Center of the Free University of Brussels), it is necessary to monitor dangerous people and groups (due to their antisocial spirit) in terms of committing crimes or repeating crimes. Sometimes he resorted to rejecting criminals and recovering from their criminal dangerousness. These crime monitoring procedures and policies use the mechanisms of criminal law and criminology as a risk management tool or the risk of crime and recidivism, and from this approach, they are deprived of their moral function and their deterrent and clinical functions. In fact, it is to prevent the repetition of crime [4].

Prevention in Sociological Theories

Sociologists who explicitly or implicitly emphasize the “normality” of crime, in explaining the failure of crime prevention experiences, believe that crime is a normal phenomenon and even has social functions such as transforming society’s morals on the one hand and the possibility of recognizing actions. It is allowed on the other hand. This means that when there is no crime, then social morality will not make sense and there will be no distinction between good and bad actions in society. Also, since crime is a social reality and a part of the body of social habits, the perspective of realizing a crime-free society is unrealistic [5].

For example, 19th century sociologist Emile Durkheim believed that crime has existed in all places and times throughout history, and despite the use of severe punishments, mankind has not been able to control it and avoid it. Therefore, social functions should be imagined for crime. Of course, Durkheim and the sociologists who agree with him do not praise and approve crime, but in terms of its generality in all societies and always, he considered functions for it in society. So, the generality of crime in this theory does not mean the existence of sick and deviant people who commit crimes due to biological-psychological disorders according to the perspective of the realist school, but it is because crime has special social functions in human societies and Its prevention, according to human experience, in addition to the fact that it is not imagined, is not necessary.

Prevention in Criminological Theories of Social Reaction

According to different criminological theories of social reaction, there is no difference between criminals and non-criminals, and crime is a product of the functioning of the criminal justice system. In this view, experts do not consider the criminal behavior of individuals because of the type of urban context, urbanization, cultural, economic, and social conditions. Rather, they believe that crime is the result of a dynamic process between the actions of individuals and society, especially judicial officers, and judicial institutions.

In general, this approach begins its study with why and how to impose a crime (criminalization) in the form of criminal laws and repeal or amend these laws on the one hand and how to implement and apply criminal laws by criminal justice institutions on the other hand. According to these expert criminologists, by criminalizing actions and behaviors within the framework of criminal laws and by applying these laws in the society, some people are described as criminals, considering the necessity of criminalizing certain actions and the lack of contradictions.

With the values of society, we will not have many current crimes and current criminals in the society’s delinquency list. Therefore, from this point of view, the crime and the criminal can be seen as the result of the social reaction and related institutions and not the causes and factors of personality and situation (environment). With such ideological-scientific criticism of criminology, crime prevention loses its relevance. But as mentioned, all theories of etiology with the approach of psychology-social as well as psychology-ethics emphasize that crime prevention is empirically possible. As well as the complementary theories of the dynamics of the criminal act, which give a fundamental role to the pre-criminal situation with the character of the perpetrator of the crime in passing from thought to action, it should be added to this last group [6].

Conclusion

One of the most important aspects of practical prevention is preventive criminology. In fact, all these investigations and investigations are for the prevention of crime and the reduction of the number of criminals. Crime prevention is divided into two types of active and reactive prevention. Prevention is an action that is done before committing a crime in order to prevent the crime from happening. Aspects such as training, informing or providing solutions that will not provide a platform for committing a crime; An example of which is the installation of CCTV cameras. Reactive prevention refers to a set of actions that are taken after a crime has been committed in order to reduce the crime or prevent it from being committed again. Among the findings of this method, alternative punishments of imprisonment or treatment and job creation for criminals can be mentioned.

References

1. Ebrahimi Shahram (2010) Prevention Criminology, Tehran. Mizan Publishing House, Indonesia.
2. Mohammadi Nevisi Hassan (2018) Methods of Preventing Crimes in Children and Adolescents. Lambert Academic Publishing, Republic of Moldova, Europe.
3. Hassan Mohammadi Nevisi (2019) 16 Types of Crime Prevention. J Forensic Sci & Criminal Inves 11(3): 555814.
4. Nevisi HM (2020) Academic Conceptology of Postmodern Criminology. Int J Forens Sci 5(4): 000213.
5. Nevisi HM (2019) Family Impact on Social Violence (Juvenile Delinquency) in Children and Adolescents. SM J Forensic Res Criminol 3(1): 1017.
6. Nevisi HM (2020) Hermeneutics of Attempt in Iranian Criminal Law. Int J Forens Sci 5(2): 000188.