Fondements économiques d'une politique de sécurité : l'exemple du risque de criminalité

This thesis aims at laying down the theoric foundations for a politics of security and at applying them to the case of crime. For that goal the concept of security will be granted an economic status as a capability according to Sen, for which an axiomatic is proposed. From this work, a security « demand curve » will be shaped. It will rely on two components : public institutions estimations, and private individual request for security, for which a model is proposed up from the Kahneman and Tversky Prospect Theory. Then, the case of crime will be focused on. After a historical overview, a security « supply curve » will be drawn, based on a time allocation model between legal and illegal activities. At that stage, the security “demand” et “supply” curves will be crossed and some theorical conclusions will be drawn. Secondly a practical application will be led to evaluate how to allocate public resources - teaching and policing programs - in the poorer neighborhoods named “Zones Urbaines Sensibles” according to the French definition.