Public Health and Criminal Justice Approaches to Prevention

The public health perspective on interpersonal violence complements that of criminal justice by focusing on violence as a threat to community health, not only as a threat to community order; on victims, not only on offenders; and on violence between intimates, not only on violence among strangers. The public health perspective views violence as emerging from a complex causal system, not only offenders' intentions, motivations, and characters. Favored interventions take place at the level of primary prevention-the prevention of harms before they occur. This complements criminal justice efforts, which mostly take place at secondary and tertiary levels, when the risk of violence has been identified or when violence has already occurred. The public health approach brings a new platform for observation and intervention, additional resources for developing and using data, and a new constituency. It reminds us we cannot rely only on concepts of justice to achieve change among those involved in violent offenses.