Crime prevention has long been stated as the main goal of the North American criminal justice system and has been variously conceptualized in terms of techniques, targets, and the criminal processes of decisionmaking, searching, and action. Interventions have included laws, efforts to improve socioeconomic conditions, education, neighborhood watch programs, changes in architectural design, and target hardening. The theoretical and applied research showing that standardized programs are unlikely to prevent crime is underscoring the need for further research on criminal choices and decisionmaking and for new prevention approaches that reflect this research. 88 references.