The UNODC Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Section champions efforts to support Member States towards fair and effective justice systems, including in conflict, post-conflict and fragile settings. Building on UNODC’s leading intergovernmental mandates for research, legislation and policy, we co-design innovative and tailor-made justice sector reform interventions and tackle the factors which drive crime in the first place.
Our Section provides practical and operational support to Member States to prevent and respond to crime, build inclusive and accountable criminal justice institutions and address interconnected challenges – from reducing prison overcrowding to promoting non-custodial measures, supporting legal aid systems and modernizing justice systems through the responsible use of new and emerging technologies.
As a modern, field-oriented technical assistance provider, we leverage trusted relationships with core criminal justice institutions to address Member States’ needs and operational realities. With a global presence, our Section deliver justice sector advisory services and reform support across diverse national and regional contexts, ranging from legal aid to police and prison reform, to supporting case management to enhance efficiencies in the administration of justice.
.The Justice 360 approach serves as a guiding framework to crime prevention and criminal justice reform. It positions CPCJS as a key enabler of UNODC’s core mandate by strengthening justice delivery and building the capacity of criminal justice actors to prevent and address crime and violence.
A holistic, modern and operational approach to addressing contemporary crime prevention and criminal justice challenges
UNODC’s consolidated service delivery framework operates through three holistic areas of intervention which promote a whole of justice chain approach, from strengthening core justice actors to accelerating justice systems and preventing crime from happening in the first place:
Our overall aim is to provide a comprehensive, innovative and operational response to today’s crime prevention and criminal justice challenges. To achieve this, our new structure consolidates our work into three core pillars that complement and reinforce one another, fostering stronger collaboration and effective results.
The Learning and Innovation team operates as an integral part of CPCJS, working in a cross-cutting way across all three pillars (and throughout UNODC more broadly).
The UN standards and norms provide comprehensive principles to promote and protect human rights in the administration of justice, relating to different aspects of criminal justice, such as responding to violence against women, protecting the rights of children, and promoting prison and penal reform. Developed through decades of collective expertise, these instruments serve as our compass and are powerful pathways to transformation. Enjoying the consensus of Member States, they act as practical guidance to improve minimum standards, while respecting differences in legal systems. Most of the UN standards and norms are adopted through General Assembly or Economic and Social Council resolutions.
The Compendium of UN standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice is available for download in: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian.
Model strategies on reducing reoffending
Recent reports of the Secretary-General on the use and application of UN standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice are also available for download: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 , 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
For more information on UNODC’s work on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, please email us at justice@unodc.org
