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Articles received by April 30 can be published in the first semester, and those received by September 15 can be published in the corresponding second-semester issue.

Perception and decision. Theoretical considerations on the relationship between social perception of insecurity and criminal behavior

Authors

  • Juan Ignacio Piña Rochefort Abogado. Doctor en Derecho por la Universidad de Navarra, España. Profesor de Derecho Penal en la Universidad de los Andes

Abstract

The article explores the discussion regarding individual decision-making, which tends to be mediated by each subject's perception of reality. These decisions, therefore, are taken based on a deficient or incomplete information about reality. This affects decision in criminal and security policy too, because such policies are not necessarily a correlate of what actually happens, but rather respond to what is perceived. The relevance that a perception of something has in the decision about it would be crucial, because is the first element taken into account during knowledge- and concept-building.    

Keywords:

percept, conceptual judgement, reasoning, social construction, perception of insecurity