The Market for Scientific Crime Prevention: A Comparative Study of Canada and Venezuela |
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Authors: | Christopher Birkbeck |
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Institution: | (1) Universidad de Los Andes Mérida, Venezuela, Apartado 730, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela |
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Abstract: | Crime prevention is an activity that, sooner or later, requires the concourse of science. But the dictates of science may
not mesh well with the social, institutional and political considerations that are persistent and powerful determinants of
collective action. To the extent that they are ignored, crime prevention is less scientific and more pragmatic. Using a marketing
metaphor, this paper examines selected aspects of the supply of and demand for scientific crime prevention in Canada and Venezuela
from 1949 to the present. In both countries, academic entrepreneurs are revealed to be a necessary factor in the sale of crime
prevention to government. On the demand side, governments adopt and adapt crime prevention policies in relation to their broader
perspective on social problems and social change. However, rising crime rates and climates of urgency reduce the attractiveness
of crime prevention. Scientific crime prevention is easier to sell when crime rates are stable or declining. |
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Keywords: | crime prevention crime rates policy Canada Venezuela |
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