Historically, the French police has been defined very broadly as the total of administrative organizations in a given territory; so its tasks initially included numerous administrative roles in addition to crime repression. In fact, a preventive role of the French police is not explicitly addressed until the late 19th Century. The preventive role of the British police, on the other hand, was established already in 1829, when a police reform defined crime prevention as the main task of the police. Correspondingly, the French still perceive prevention as a mission that belongs to the totality of community organizations whereas the British police has remained the main force of crime prevention. Only in recent years, with the rise in crime and the corresponding loss of popular confidence, has the British police broadened its preventive approach and sought more community support through social preventive programs and Neighborhood Watches. 15 references