An Inauguration to Crime Prevention from Imam Ali’s (as) Point of View

By studying the historical evolvement of criminal laws, it becomes evident that different societies implement a rather extreme penal system to prevent crime and defend the values governing over society; of which the most recent systemic implementations strives towards by the use of preventive programs and approaches. Preventive measures to pre-empt crime is of great importance in criminal policy due to having a non-violent and an obstructive nature towards punishments, and while serving as a strategy to deal with crime, it is also considered a valued ideology and approach; hence it has been  the subject of various studies from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. Furthermore, an understanding of Islam’s criminal policy based on the viewpoint of Imam Ali (as) is crucial; therefore, with a thorough examination of this matter, the current research concludes that crime prevention policies are based on a series of priniciples from Imam Ali’s point of view. These principles include: the importance and necessity of crime prevention, methods’ legitimacy, observance of justice and respect for human dignity. In addition to emphasizing the significance of these principles in preventive measures, Imam Ali (as) has also provided solutions for social and situational prevention of crime of which its most notable constituents are: tackling ignorance, striving toward promotion of moral virtues, taking necessary measures to meet human needs, respecting citizen’s rights, monitoring the performance of government officials, improving social correspondences and enjoining good and forbidding evil.