Policies for Responding to Protest Movements as a Basis for Preventing Demonstration-Protest Crimes

An effective policy of the states reaction to protest movements should form the basis for the prevention of demonstration-protest crimes. Such policy is a specific area of preventing protest movements that 1) follows protests, but is not limited to the use of punitive legal measures; 2) minimizes protests, but does not influence the causes and conditions of protests; 3) is aimed at maximizing the cost of participating in the protest movement and making the state reaction to the protest maximally effective without resorting to the classical and economically costly measures of criminological and criminal law prevention. The reaction of the state to the protest is determined based on the character of demands put forward by the protesters and the strength of the protest movement. It can be described as one of the following: 1) repressions as a reaction to the actions of a weak protest group that puts forward strong demands; 2) a concession as a reaction to the actions of a strong group that puts forward weak demands; 3) ignoring the actions of a group with weak demands that does not have a collective force; 4) wearing out the protest movement as a reaction to the strong demands of a strong protest group. The last scenario, as the most demanded one, is based on the formal respect for the right to protest, but at the same time it effectively reduces its scope. It is comprised of three components: 1) maintaining the unity of power elites and demonstrating the unity of the elites and the society; 2) organization of counter-movements whose demands are in direct contrast to those put forward by the protesters; 3) using the force of court decisions on civil law suits of private persons for the compensation of losses and damages resulting from the protest actions.