THE SPECIFICS OF THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROCESS OF CRIME PREVENTION: METHODOLOGICAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY CHALLENGES
THE SPECIFICS OF THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROCESS OF CRIME PREVENTION: METHODOLOGICAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY CHALLENGES

Summary/Abstract: Crime prevention is a central issue in modern criminological and security sciences, but it is also one of the most methodologically demanding areas of scientific research. The complexity of contemporary forms of crime, their social and technological conditioning, and the diversity of theoretical frameworks and practical prevention strategies make it impossible to reduce this phenomenon to a single paradigm or standardised research approach. From this perspective, the paper focuses on the theoretical and methodological analysis of the specific features of the scientific research process in crime prevention, with special emphasis on the phased challenges that affect the validity, reliability, and interpretative reach of research findings. The paper discusses key methodological problems, including the paradox of ‘unrealised crime,’ the dark crime figure, the contextual conditionality of preventive measures, and the limitations of experimental control in real social conditions. Special attention is paid to the delimitation of normative goals of prevention from analytical-empirical hypotheses, as well as to the theoretical conditionality of the choice of research design, indicators and data sources. The specifics of individual phases of research are also analysed – from the formulation of problems and operationalisation of concepts, through hypothesis, design and sampling, to data collection, analysis, interpretation and generalisation of findings. The paper further examines the role of the interdisciplinary approach in the study of crime prevention, noting that interdisciplinarity is a methodological necessity, but only under the condition of theoretical reflection and analytical control. Contemporary technological challenges, such as cybercrime, big data analytics, and predictive models, are particularly problematic and open new research questions as well as ethical and methodological dilemmas. In conclusion, the paper does not offer a universal model of crime prevention research, but a methodological framework for its critical, scientifically based and contextually responsible study.

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