IRRC No. 870

Crime prevention and control: Western beliefs vs. traditional legal practices

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First, the paper deals with the current idea that punishment - conceived as the loss of liberty - has an effect in preventing unlawful behaviour. It shows that, in general, sanctions have a poor individual preventive effect and that general prevention depends on a variety of factors. The second question is that of the feasibility of non-stigmatizing ways to cope with crime. The authos looks at two examples borrowed from legal anthropology which seem to indicate that viable alternatives exist.

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