Crime Prevention in the EU

Abstract: Crime prevention became an important Union issue when the Treaty of Amsterdam came into force and created an area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ). In 1999 the Tampere Conclusions declared the first crime preventive priorities along with the Union’s obligation to protect its citizens. Two years later the European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN) was established and it was then stated that crime prevention should be based on knowledge and carried out through cooperation and an increased inter-state exchange of information. The Member States have the main responsibility and the work should be carried out by a multidisciplinary approach specialising on certain selected priorities. Successful practices need to be exchanged within the network and evaluation of the preventive work must be done. Despite these and other guidelines, crime preventive work has proven to be problematic. The practical problems are that proven theories are not used in the actual work, the lack of resources and evaluation methods, and too broad priorities which reflects the politicians’ unrealistic ambitions. The theoretical problems, in contrast, are the increased importance for security that collides with basic human rights and the concept of freedom, the lack of consideration for the States’ differences and the idea that States’ providence of security is a source of legitimacy.