10. Public Policy of Crime and Violence Prevention: Regional and National Approaches

Policy makers have several complementary approaches at their disposal with which to address crime and violence. Sector-specific approaches—such as criminal justice, public health, and conflict transformation/human rights—have a role to play, as do cross-sectoral approaches, such as crime prevention through environmental design and citizen security. The criminal justice approach is the most widely known and used, but it does have limitations and should not be the sole approach employed. Public health approaches are appropriate for addressing youth and gender-based violence, and crime prevention through environmental design has the potential to rapidly lower crime in specific locations.