Public Health and Criminal Justice Approaches to Prevention (From Building a Safer Society: Strategic Approaches to Crime Prevention, Volume 19, P 237-262, 1995, Michael Tonry and David P Farrington, eds.)

• NCJ Number: 159619
• Author(s): M H Moore
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 26 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Great Britain Home Office
• Sale Source: University of Chicago Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

The public health perspective on interpersonal violence complements that of criminal justice by focusing on violence as a threat to both community health and community order, on victims and offenders, and on violence between intimates and strangers.

Abstract

The public health approach views violence as emerging from a complex causal system that includes but is not limited to offender intentions, motivations, and characteristics. Favored interventions occur at the level of primary prevention, the prevention of harm before it occurs. The public health perspective complements criminal justice efforts which mostly take place at secondary and tertiary levels when the risk of violence has been identified or when violence has already occurred. The public health approach brings a new platform for observation and intervention, additional resources for developing and using data, and a new constituency. It emphasizes the fallacy of relying strictly on the criminal justice system to achieve change among those involved in violent offenses. 51 references