The last two decades have seen dramatic changes in the field of international crime prevention and criminal justice. This course examines past and current thinking and practical developments on the United Nations Crime Prevention. It particularly focuses on the Justice and Security Sector Reform (SSR) – a major cross cutting global criminal policy overhaul pursued in the United Nations for its 193 Member States, and a new “common good” which will progress as the UN Studies (theory and practice) expands. In the first part of the course, SSR legal, criminological and other concepts will be presented and discussed in their relation to poverty alleviation, criminal violence, prevention, security, safety, sustainable development, city planning, public participation, good governance, cyber crime, and intercultural training skills for the rule of law and crime prevention. In the second part of the course will be presented and discussed country and urban examples of practical glocal (global/local) counteraction to various forms of crime. They include transnational organized crime, youth victimization, gang, other street crime. These examples will be discussed in terms of good crime prevention practices, particularly aiming at the protection of children and youth, in accordance with the United Nations experience and law, including the UN Charter aimed to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Both parts of the course advocate (a) modernization by applying its precepts, and precepts of some other key criminological theories, with due account of specific geopolitical priorities and key intercultural crime prevention and criminal justice SSR concepts, needs and aim; (b) more public, inclusive and cooperative arrangements countering excessive relative deprivation undermining the SSR’s aim to build a more comprehensive human security framework.
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