Abstract



Background and Objective: Soft law-breaking, characterized by non-violent violations of formal regulations, threatens public safety and tourism sustainability due to its ease of execution and weak oversight. In Khuzestan’s peri-urban areas, the unregulated growth of garden villas as informal tourism accommodations has created economic opportunities but also significant policing and security challenges due to inadequate supervision and planning. This study aims to identify and analyze the policing and security implications of soft law-breaking in the tourism accommodation sector of these areas.



Methods: This applied research employs a mixed-methods approach. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 experts (police administrators, judicial and tourism specialists) selected via purposive sampling. In the quantitative phase, a questionnaire based on qualitative findings was distributed to 67 police commanders and Khuzestan Security Council members. Qualitative data were analyzed through manual coding (open, axial, selective), and quantitative data were evaluated using a one-sample t-test.



Results: Policing implications were grouped into three themes: disruption of policing operations, crimes against tourists, and law-breaking and disorder. Security implications were categorized into five themes: internal security, food security, public safety, environmental security, and economic security. All questionnaire items scored above the Likert scale average (3).



Conclusions: Key policing issues include weakened patrol access, illegal guest admissions, crime prevention challenges, and informal accommodation operations. Security concerns involve illegal well-digging, agricultural land conversion, land speculation, reduced police intelligence oversight, and food security threats. Enhanced supervision and integrated management are critical to address soft law-breaking.