Concern for the individual rights of accused and convicted persons is often believed to be the dominant goal of criminal justice. In addition, the General Assembly in 1985 called for efforts to meet the needs of victims of crime in its Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime, with the goal of reducing victimization by addressing the factors that generate crime and that increase its impact on victims.

The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice finalized the Guidelines for Cooperation and Technical Assistance in the Field of Urban Crime earlier this year, which were subsequently adopted by the Economic and Social Council. Also in 1995, the programme of action of the World Summit for Social Development recognized that the problems created by violence required taking full measures to eliminate all forms of exploitation and violence against women, which implied preventive actions. [5]

In 1992, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal justice at its first session identified crime prevention as a major priority. Furthermore, it called for appropriate action programmes, particularly in developing countries and those in transition. It was to further this practical goal of reducing crime through prevention that the Canadian and French Governments established ICPC, in 1994, in association with city organizations, national crime prevention agencies and the network of United Nations institutes and services, as an international nongovernmental organization to collect and analyse information on crime-prevention strategies and to promote best practice by sharing successful experiences.

In the last three decades, the problem of crime has become a priority for politicians and the media of many countries as well as for international agencies. Public opinion polls show the public's concern about crime and their fear of being on the streets. At the same time, some national polls (little publicized) show that the public are disillusioned with government crime policies and have identified prevention as being the most effective way of controlling crime in preference to more policing or harsher sentences.