The United Nations Programme on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

This book documents the evolution of the UN Crime Programme and its changing priorities, from the early focus on juvenile delinquency and correctional treatment, to the present preoccupation with transnational organized crime. It analyses what factors have contributed to this evolution, and to the shift from the original work on ?soft law? resolutions and international standards, to ?hard law? conventions, and to the expansion of technical assistance. It also examines the changing structure and working methods of the Programme, such as the UN Crime Commission and the UN Secretariat unit responsible for the Programme, the UN Crime Congresses, and the Programme Network Institutes. Drawing on almost fifty years of experience on the ?inside? of the United Nations Crime Programme and his hands-on knowledge of the working of governmental and intergovernmental processes, Matti Joutsen explores the transitions that have taken place in the UN Crime Programme over the seven decades of its existence, assesses the changing impact of the Programme, and suggests possible future directions in international cooperation in crime prevention and criminal justice.

An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, politics, criminal justice, policy makers and those interested in the evolution of the UN Crime Programme.

'A contemporary history of the evolution of United Nations? efforts over 75 years in the areas of crime, law, and criminal justice in transnational perspective. An active participant in UN work for several decades, Matti Joutsen witnessed the changes first-hand. I cannot think of anyone better qualified to write such a book.'

Jay S. Albanese, Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University

'Matti Joutsen has produced a seminal and highly readable work on the UN Crime Programme. Joutsen is a quintessential participant-observer who has spent half a century working in the programme in various capacities. He is particularly successful in capturing the effects on the programme of the creation of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and the development of the framework suppression Conventions on Transnational Organized Crime and Corruption. This book should be of great interest not only to Crime Programme devotees and novices alike, but also to anyone interested in watching an international organization striving creatively with only sketchy references in its constitutional document ? in this case the UN Charter.'

Roger Clark, School of Law, Rutgers University

'Matti Joutsen´s book benefits from his years of expertise, aisle-crossing skills, and keen analytical eye.  It is an indispensable read for all comparative criminal justice scholars and for educators of the UN in general.  The relatively little-known work of the UN Programme on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice has met its best chronicler.'

 Rosemary Barberet, Ph.D. Professor Sociology Department, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

 'The first systematic history of the making and development as well as critical insight into the achievements and limitations of the UN Crime Programme, itself an interplay among international bureaucracy, diplomacy and expert civil society within the geopolitics of the international anti-crime regime and governance. Matti Joutsen, himself an engaged participant and yet impartial and critical observer in this endeavour, furnishes an absolute must for newcomers - diplomats and UN staff alike - as well as for us, the witness old timers.'

Ambassador Uglješa (Ugi) Zvekić, Senior Advisor, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, UN Crime Programme Retiree