Crime Distribution and State Obligations

The purpose of this chapter is to consider the ethical significance of the distribution of crime in relation to exclusionary crime preventive measures. First, it is suggested that crime displacement should be ethically assessed on three dimensions: the number of crimes; the gravity of the crimes; and the vulnerability of the victims. Second, it is argued that these imply that there may be circumstances under which it is desirable to relocate crimes within a society even if no crimes are prevented, or that it may sometimes even be desirable for the state to facilitate some types of crime. Third, a few possible objections are considered concerning the measurement of a crime’s gravity, the state’s obligation to protect its citizens frassessment criteria have several important and hitherto ignored implications. For instance, they om crime, and the increasing privatisation of crime prevention. All of these objections are ultimately dismissed. The overall goal of this chapter is to direct attention to the fact that the distribution of crime within a society should itself be regarded as a question of distributive justice.