EMI Public lecture: interactive session on juvenile crime prevention in cities
During the EMI Public Lecture both Professor Wikström and the Mayor of The Hague, Mr. Van Aartsen gave a key-note speech on juvenile crime prevention. In addition, the participants got the opportunity to discuss the negative and positive aspects of crime prevention policy among youths. The participants came from a variety of cities: Stuttgart, Zagreb, Birmingham, Kaunas, Brussels, Amsterdam and The Hague. A true mix of researchers, policymakers and fieldworkers was present.
During the interactive session the group was split up in several smaller discussion groups. This article gives you an idea of the main points discussed. Ms. Riemersma as coordinator of the ‘Safety House’ approach in The Hague informed the participants in her group about the integrated approach of this initiative in The Hague. You can read more about the approach in the article attached. Youth workers and police officers, who had never worked with each other before, are now working together very intensively. They are all active in the neighbourhoods and know how to work with youths. Working together as key partners in the prevention of juvenile crime wasn’t new for the participants at all. The combination of different approaches like care, punishment and aftercare seemed to make sense to the participants, although there seemed to be no common standard. Birmingham was the only city present that has a very similar approach to the one in The Hague.
Read more about EMI's public lecture on the EMI webiste.