Crime prevention has a significant role in the life of a society. Its function is the creation of a safe and secure environment for people. Effective crime prevention policy contributes to avoidance of crime and victimization, also development of strong and vibrant communities.[1]

The present document studies crime prevention politics in Georgia. The document aims to assess how robust the steps taken by appropriate authorities are for changing the established practices of prevention and for their improvement.

According to the Georgian legislation, crime prevention falls under the mandate of law-enforcement authorities. Primarily, preventive functions are assigned to investigative authorities. State bodies engaged with healthcare, education, social, cultural and youth affairs are not much involved in crime prevention. Accordingly, the state adopts a traditional approach to crime prevention concerned only with the criminal dimension of prevention. Such an understanding of prevention is fiercely criticized in the modern literature, as it does not have the capacity to prevent the crime and is primarily concerned with deterrence and punishment.[2] Traditional understanding of prevention erases the line between control and actual prevention of crime.[3]

Contrary to the traditional framework, contemporary models of prevention opt for socially progressive measures of crime reduction, which implies work beyond criminal law and strengthening of institutions responsible for betterment of social conditions and social welfare.[4] Present understanding of prevention in Georgia impedes introduction of interdisciplinary programs against various types and categories of crimes, which could contribute to the rethinking of traditional model of prevention, promote work on causes of crime as related to prevention and help develop socially sensitive policies focused on care.

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