Crime Prevention-International Experiences

The inaugural address by Jeremy Travis, the Director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), consisted of an overview of crime prevention in the United States, with a focus on the work that NIJ is doing in the area of crime prevention. The thrust of NIJ research and program development has emphasized cooperation between criminal justice professionals/agencies and community institutions and organizations to influence families, schools, and neighborhoods in developing climates, practices, and programs designed to prevent criminal behavior. The first of five seminar sessions included three papers on the parameters of crime prevention in North America and Europe. One paper discussed crime in Germany and the role of the police in crime prevention. A second paper discussed the thinking about crime prevention in Germany among policymakers, practitioners, and scholars. A comprehensive policy of crime prevention that involves planned, coordinated activities has been considered the most effective way of reducing crime and victimization. The third paper focused on the work of the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, regarding its approach to juvenile delinquency prevention. The second session of the seminar focused on three papers that addressed approaches to drug prevention in the United States and Europe. The two papers presented in session three discussed the reduction of crime through community policing, and the papers presented in sessions four and five pertained to the prevention of juvenile crimes and the concept of community justice. The concluding paper summarizes the seminar discussions. A list and biographies of participants are provided.