Pathology of the Role of Civil Society in Crime Prevention in Iran's Criminal Justice System

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze the pathology of the role of civil society in crime prevention in Iran's criminal justice system. A qualitative research strategy, using thematic analysis, has been employed to address the issue. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 experts in criminal law and criminology, selected via theoretical sampling. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, specifically the thematic network analysis method, and a conceptual model was constructed based on network measurements. The findings from the qualitative research indicated that the pathology of civil society’s role in crime prevention within Iran's criminal justice system includes the following overarching themes: 1) Internal organizational challenges, including (legal and juridical issues, governmental executive issues, lack of awareness and weak cultural development concerning civil society, weak social capital, economic issues, and legal and executive redundancy and multifactorial challenges); and 2) External organizational challenges, including (structural and managerial weaknesses in civil society institutions and weak knowledge management in crime prevention). Furthermore, for "validity testing" of the constructed themes and model, two methods were used: communicative validation and audit methods. For "reliability testing," two approaches were employed: repeatability and transferability or generalizability.