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Mitigation & Prevention

Regulation
In general, there are two regulatory strategies: command and control (C2) and self-regulation.
In command and control strategies, the law determines compliance and threatens legal
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sanctions for non-compliance. This requires a legal code that identifies activities that cause
environmental harm. Theoretically, “certain and severe punishment should deter most
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offenders.” Research is mixed on whether it truly works. For individuals, deterrence theory
proses “certainty and severity” of punishment as effective. However, this requires rational
potential criminals that can weigh the risks and decide the “crime is not worth the time.”
Unfortunately, evidence for this to be the case is weak. In the 1990’s, the United States increased
the number of police officers on the street. Most research suggests that more police and more
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imprisonment had little effect on the crime drop that occurred at the same time. Similarly,
studies of ‘hot spot’ policing in which police concentrate resources to a target area, tend to show
crime displacement (the criminals move around the corner). Comparison studies between Canada
and the United States for the same time frame show that Canada reduced its police officers by 10
per cent and had more of a crime reduction than the United States.
But, it should be noted that classical deterrence proposes that punishment should be swift to be
effective – the criminal process in most modern states does not lend itself to swiftness.
In self-regulation, often encouraged by regulatory agencies as complementary to command and
control strategies, corporate norms (often based on social acceptability) are such that illegal
activities are not tolerated. Research tends to support compliance because of a strong corporate
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ethos. Corporations that have codes of ethics, mandatory ethics training, anonymous hotlines,
and management that take complaints seriously do better than corporations that do not have such
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practices. Public education through mass media, schools, and religious institutions can support
self-regulation.
Naming and Shaming
Negative publicity can also impact behavior, corporately and individually. Such “informal
sanctions” can impact reputation and finances. For businesses, this may include market
performance; for individuals, they may lose their jobs. Research has supported the role of shame
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and loss of respect from family, friends and business associates as inhibitors.
Root Causes
Dealing with the actual causes of crime require a long-term development focus and are usually
outside the attention window of a peacekeeping mission. However, they should be considered –
at least in the sense that short-term measures should not derail long-term sustainability.
Training
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Many international organizations have developed materials that will enhance training for UN
police. The Hague Good Practices recommends that training should be:
…specific to countering the nexus, and can include areas of conflict resolution
and prevention, risk-awareness training, cultural-sensitivity training and border
security and management, delivered in the form of relevant case studies,

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