NCJ Number
77044
Date Published
1980
Length
29 pages
Annotation
Prepared by the Secretariat for use at the Sixth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (1980). This paper focuses on the role of international cooperation.
Abstract
Over the years, the focus of activities of the United Nations policymaking bodies, which are concerned with problems of criminality, has shifted from issues relating merely to the treatment of offenders to the broader issue of crime prevention and criminal justice in the developmental context. A growing awareness exists that certain changes in the socioeconomic structure and cultural patterns of a society, resulting from economic growth and social change, might affect deviance and criminality. Therefore, the paper suggests that relationships between crime and various socioeconomic issues be further analyzed and that practical measures aimed at promoting coherent crime prevention strategies, as well as methods of implementation, be expanded. Several issues deserve particular attention and action at the national, regional, and international level. These issues include an integrated approach to crime prevention and criminal justice that will include the assistance of nongovernmental organizations. Intersectoral and sectoral planning for crime prevention and criminal justice should be coordinated in relation to objectives and programs of national development. The integrated approach will be facilitated by cooperation at the international level. Technical cooperation among developing countries is particularly relevant to an international strategy of crime prevention and criminal justice in relation to developmental processes and goals. In this context, the regional crime prevention research and training institutes can be useful instruments for effective implementation. Activities of the Social Defense Research Institute should be expanded. The paper provides 42 footnotes. (Author abstract modified)