Criminal Responsibility Arising from Situational Crime Preventive Measures in Imamiyya Jurisprudence and Iranian Law

Situational crime prevention is a series of measures used by the state and civil society to prevent crime through reducing criminal opportunities and hardening targets. Since it is always possible that these technical and complex measures or instruments get abused by the state or citizens and due to the possibility of disordering at due process of the use of power, it is necessary to determine the conditions and rules for exercising such measures and for the resulting responsibilities. However, the unclear and incomprehensive approach of the legislature toward the legal nature of these preventive measures and their using conditions, have provided the opportunities for abusing and caused disagreements among lawyers and scholars. Some believe that these kinds of measures are self-defense and are subject to its conditions and rules. But some others regard them as some kinds of absolute and exclusive ownership rights. This article, relying on the jurisprudential and legal bases of the right of using these preventive measures and drawing on judicial precedents, doctrines, and different rules, investigates the nature and conditions of these measures and responsibility arising from using these kinds of measures.