From the lengthy opening sequence in which the pre-crime division go about preventing a murder, this is genuine edge-of-the-seat stuff tempered with a healthy dose of dark humour.

BBC: Minority Report cruises ahead

Similarly, one of the U.K.'s most pre-eminent crime writers, whose Rebus character is a cynical, down-on-his-luck, semi-alcoholic detective, reveals a weakness for high-end Cartier watches.

WSJ: Where True Value Lies

There is also a tradition in Iceland of pre-empting crime issues before they arise, or stopping issues at the nascent stages before they can get worse.

BBC: Why is violent crime so rare in Iceland?

Communities with less social capital have higher teenage pregnancy, child suicide, pre-natal mortality and crime rates.

BBC: A tale of two schools

Jim Wells for the DUP said that his party wanted the police to have powers to deal with situations of anti-social behaviour where the committing of a crime could be pre-empted.

BBC: Anti-social behaviour

If crime has become Russia's pre-eminent problem, its most ominous component may be the extraordinary corruption among Russian law-enforcement agencies.

NEWSWEEK: Bill Powell

Officers from the police's Central e-Crime Unit arrested the teenager in what they describe as a "pre-planned intelligence-led operation" on Wednesday.

BBC: Keyboard

The proposal was disclosed because the pre-trial judge had asked the tribunal's appeals chamber to define the crime of "criminal association".

BBC: Prosecutors propose new charge for Hariri suspects

The measure approved in Oklahoma Tuesday went one step further by making it a misdemeanor crime to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple, a pre-emptive shot against any local officials who might want to follow in Newsom's footsteps.

CNN: Same-sex marriage bans?winning on state ballots