Crime prevention and victim support in Lithuania are both relatively new fields, yet their development has followed different trajectories. Crime prevention has been evolving for more than three decades, but a lingering punitive mindset inherited from Soviet-era conceptual frameworks continues to slow the shift toward more community-based and restorative approaches. Victim support, although formally expanded, is still influenced by older assumptions that prioritise the punishment of offenders over compensation or broader social services for victims. Several major reforms were introduced mainly in response to EU requirements, reinforcing the perception of victim support as a bureaucratic EU obligation rather than a naturally developing national priority. Viewed together, these dynamics show how deeply embedded punitiveness continues to influence both fields, even as gradual and meaningful improvements take place.