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International Institute on Crime Prevention

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Day V

Youth and Urban Crime Strategies

The ICPC is pleased to be hosting John Minkes, a visiting scholar from the Department of Applied Social Sciences, University of Swansea, UK. Mr. Minkes opened topic with a historical look at youth justice strategies in England and Wales. He noted that in the 1960s, authorities took a very reactive approach to crime, trying to change the behaviour of people in conflict with the law. During the 1960s and 70s, the emphasis on rehabilitation practices came to be considered ineffective and, at times, even worsened the situation. In the 1980s, the ideology switched yet again to the “just deserts” model of minimum interference diversion wherever possible. In neither case can these trends be considered crime prevention, per se. In the 1990s, the pendulum swung and a more punitive approach was adopted in reaction to perceptions that the public wanted to be tougher on kids This was largely due to an extraordinary murder in Britain which amassed a huge amount of press coverage.

In 1996, an NGO produced an audit commission at the behest of the federal government, which concluded that there was no single ‘youth justice system’, and the system was failing to deal with youth quickly and effectively, letting down both the community and the youth themselves. When the new Labour Party took office in 1997, they published several reports for redoing the youth justice act. They also set up the Youth Justice Board as well as Youth Offending Teams, both of which are key in applying crime prevention strategy in their work in their duty to prevent and reduce crime.

Mr. Minkes concluded his presentation with a look at youth and crime prevention as it is applied today in Wales. The three main overarching targets are: to increase participation in school and work, reduce social exclusion, and increase motivation. Recipients of the Anger Management Program must attend a minimum of 5 sessions that impart skills, control and counselling, it is facilitated by a senior nurse and two project workers. Another initiative, known as the Youth Access Initiative targets at-risk youth by offering a mix of work experience or education outside of school. Finally, Youth Action Groups work to improve plans in schools and involve youth at every stage. The programs are evaluated through an annual school survey, consisting of a series of self-administered computer questions whose topics include involvement in criminal activities, substance misuse, and at-risk factors.

The second speaker on the topic of Youth and Crime Prevention, was Sohail Husain. Mr. Husain is the Deputy Chief Executive of Crime Concern, a non-governmental-organisation based in Britain. He noted that in British crime prevention, youth include everyone from 0-20 years of age. Every area of the country has a local prevention strategy, developed jointly by all responsible parties for youth and the family, along with youth offending teams. The Sure Start program focuses on early childhood education. Police officers are now present in schools to encourage safety, which Mr. Husain identifies as a key element in dealing with youth causing trouble. In addition, the Positive Activities for Young People program (PAYP) operates when school is out in order to give youth somewhere to go and something constructive to do. To divert potential offenders from crime and to reduce the risk of offending in the future, programs have been set up for those between the ages of 8 and 13, ensuring onset assessment which covers: previous police contact and relevant details, sibling contact with police, social aspects and so on. The Junior Youth Inclusion Program (JYIP) also provides youth adult contact. Issues and challenges include: targeting individuals and neighbourhoods versus more universal targets, dealing with disagreements between people and agencies on what the best solutions are, dealing with media demonization of youth, and dealing with the consequences of negative public attitudes towards youth.

Citizen Participation and Crime Prevention

Veronique Fayet, Assistant to the Mayor of Bordeaux, France began the discussion with her presentation on local participation in crime prevention in Bordeaux. Bordeaux has a population of 215,000 inhabitants. She noted that participation is not a strong theme, since France is a very centralised country and the bulk of the governance is dictated from Paris. There is therefore no culture for participation, making representative democracy an overstatement.

Various councils were created for citizens to discuss the problems facing their communities, but Madame Fayet concluded that it is pointless discussing popular participation if there is no sense that the populace wields any power. Local councils need to play a role in uniting elected officials, various organisations, and the citizens. As the councils now function, the mayor remains central to the discussion and directs the proceedings. The seven most difficult neighbourhoods have opened their meetings to the general public of the community, but are not legally bound to do so. The council’s objectives include diminishing sentiments of insecurity, restoring confidence in institutions, and making local organisations visible, including those such as the police which are affiliated with the government. Councils consist of about 30 people, 7 or 8 of which are members of the community. Many of the participants recruited are those with particularly vested interests, such as local businesspeople. Unfortunately, the local inhabitants and businesses often don’t understand the importance of participating in the councils, and why they were chosen to participate. In addition, there tends to be a complete absence of more marginalised people such as welfare recipients, students, and immigrants. Notable impacts and results include information exchanges, and institutional partnerships geared towards effectiveness. Madame Fayet concluded that in order for the councils to move ahead, citizens must feel as if officials are finally giving their voices credence.

The ICPC was fortunate to welcome its final presenter of the Institute, Benoit Dupont. Mr. Dupont is a professor at the University of Montreal’s Centre for Comparative Criminology. He described his work entitled Project for Safe and Just Communities (PSJC), currently being implemented in South Africa, Argentina and Brazil. PSJC’s mandate is to deepen democracy through the promotion of security and justice. It encourages empowered, self-directed action by citizens and communities, and increases collaboration between communities, public institutions, and grassroots organisations. Objectives include: establishing sustainable peace-building models directed by communities which contain components of conflict resolution and crime prevention. In addition, the project seeks the strengthening of state and non-state actors in peacebuilding-networks, and the facilitation of international exchanges for sharing best practice in crime-prevention and police reform. Voluntary citizen participation is needed in order to attain the goals, however certain coordinators are remunerated. Mr. Dupont underlined the importance of recognising the members of a community for their value and expertise. In this sense, monetary remuneration can be seen as a type of investment. It also helps the process of increasing financial and social capital in the community, giving them the means to increase their capacities in a collective sense.

The Canadian partners involved in the Project for Safe and Just Communities include: the , University of Toronto’s Centre for International Studies, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Toronto Community Housing Corporation, and the University of Montreal’s International Centre for Comparative Criminology. Partners in Argentina are: the Municipality of Rosario, theNational Plan for the Prevention of Crime, the Provincial Police of Santa Fe, the Ombudsperson’s Office of the People of Santa Fe, the Public Defender’s Office at the Criminal Court of Constitutional Appeals, and the Province of Buenos Aires.