In the last few decades of the 20th century, the modernization of our world started to accelerate. This tendency means a transition to a second modernization. Risk society has posed new and previously unknown challenges for the decision makers of the world. As a result of it, criminal law, with its traditional instruments, often fails to provide the right response to the new types of criminal acts seriously threatening society. Therefore, there is a need for a change of paradigm. The task to be performed among the prevailing circumstances of risk society is to select those acts the frequency of which can still be effectively influenced by criminal law through the analysis of advantages/disadvantages and cost/benefit. Instruments different to those of criminal law are to be used against serious threats that cannot be influenced by criminal law – threats the seriousness of which are not yet known to a large extent.