FROM TALLINN TO MONTREAL: A DELEGATION FROM ESTONIA VISITS ICPC

ICPC was very pleased to host the visit of a delegation from Estonia on February 21st, as part of an 8 day study tour of Canada. They included:
- Tarmo Vaik, Chairman of the Board of Estonian Neighbourhood Watch (ENHW) which he established, and who represents Estonia on the European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN).
- Reverend Avo Üprus, an MP in the Estonian parliament who sits on the National Crime Prevention Council, and is active in penal reform and the development of victim services.
- Jim Hilborn Project and Programme Officer at ENHW, who also teaches criminology and crime prevention.
- Helge Hilborn who teaches social work, criminology and crime prevention in Tallinn. 



Following its independence from the former Soviet-Union in 1991, Estonia (population of 1.4 million) has seen a number of changes in relation to crime justice and crime prevention. Recorded crime increased steadily from 1991, and it now has the highest rates of incarceration in the European Union, while public insecurity and fear of crime have become major public issues. Over the same period, however, a new Penal Code came into force on September 1, 2002, and provided new alternatives to imprisonment, policing is more oriented towards a community policing model, while at the community level, organizations such as Estonian Neighbourhood Watch (ENHW) established in 2000, and victim support services, have grown rapidly over the past few years. 

Crime prevention is practiced on the national, local and community levels. At the national level, five ministries are involved, including the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs through the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), a governmental advising commission whose work is coordinated by the criminal policy department within the Ministry of Justice. Parliament recently adopted a ‘Criminal Policy Development Strategy until the year 2010’, which provides guidelines for the Ministries to implement crime prevention policies. A report on crime prevention activities is presented to Parliament once a year.

Estonian Neighborhood Watch (ENHW) has grown rapidly from 6 neighbourhood groups in 2000, to 330 in 2004, with over 10,000 households involved. It aims to have at least 1500 active neighbourhood watch areas with 150,000 members by 2013. The approach taken by EHNW reflects changes since the original 1970’s model of neighbourhood watch. That model was primarily defensive and deterrent, and largely based on situational approaches. The Estonian model places much greater emphasis on community building and crime prevention through social development, with the development of participatory links between the police, local authorities and residents, and longer-term project development, as well as situational measures. ENHW has also developed School Watch programmes in 7 schools, and have 4 active Business Watch areas.

Tarmo Vaik and Jim Hilborn have recently established a new Baltic Crime Prevention Practitioners Association (BCPPA) to promote evidence-based crime prevention. There are also plans to develop a web-based foundation course on crime prevention.

For more information on crime prevention in Estonia see presentation by Avo Üprus, and for information on ENHW, contact:

NGO Estonian Neighbourhood Watch
Jaama str. 18,
Tallinn 11615, Estonia
Tel/fax +372 6 522 522
info@naabrivalve.ee