AI and Prevention - Closing Statement and Declaration of the 31st German Crime Prevention Congress

The 31st German Prevention Day emphasizes the growing impact of Artificial Intelligence on prevention, security, and crime dynamics. AI is reshaping criminal behaviour through realistic deepfakes, automated fraud schemes, and new pathways for radicalization, while also transforming police and judicial work by enabling faster analysis of large datasets. At the same time, AI offers new preventive opportunities, such as detecting online hate speech or providing low‑threshold digital support services for victims. Because AI systems inherit human biases and often operate opaquely, transparency, fairness, and accountability remain essential.

The conference calls for a critical, responsible, and interdisciplinary approach to AI in prevention. Algorithmic predictions must not overshadow the social and structural causes of crime, and police as well as judicial institutions require clear legal frameworks that safeguard data protection, proportionality, and democratic oversight. Lawmakers are urged to update criminal and protective regulations to address AI‑enabled offences and to establish due‑diligence obligations for developers and operators. Only by integrating technological innovation with social policy, rule‑of‑law principles, and cause‑oriented prevention can AI contribute effectively to evidence‑based crime prevention. 

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