The non-governmental organization (NGO) Juventas has created a preventive program aimed at preventing youth involvement in criminal activities, which emphasizes early intervention and multi-sectoral cooperation, with the police playing a key role in strengthening young people's trust in institutions and providing initial support.
This was announced by the program director of that NGO, Marija Ružić Stajović, on the occasion of a training for police officers held in Budva, which the organization implemented as part of the project "Building Youth Resilience to Criminal Activities", reports PR Center.
"We started this project, which we are implementing in partnership with the Belgrade Center for Human Rights from Serbia and the Arsis organization from Albania, at the end of 2023, and so far we have carried out a number of research activities. Three large desk research studies were conducted in Montenegro, Serbia and Albania, and the focus was on identifying risk factors that influence the involvement of young people in criminal activities," said Marija Ružić Stajović.
She explained that the goal of the project is to contribute to the fight against organized crime by strengthening the resilience of youth, but also by developing a new paradigm in the socio-economic approach to youth.
"We want to provide systematic support and assistance to young people. A survey is currently being conducted in all three countries among 9.000 high school students on the causes and factors that lead to involvement in various criminal activities."
According to her, based on the results of research conducted through the analysis of available literature and in-depth interviews with representatives of institutions, as well as many years of work with minors in conflict with the law, a preventive program was created, a planning document for the prevention of youth involvement in criminal activities, developed by psychologist Marica Stijepović.
"It was precisely on the basis of that document that training was organized for 20 police officers from different regions of Montenegro," said Ružić Stajović.
She emphasized that it is extremely important to emphasize preventive activities.
"Why? Because we want to protect these young people. The police are often the first to contact young people when they commit a crime or impose a sanction. It is of utmost importance how these young people are treated in order to prevent their further involvement in criminal activities."
She said that the police are a key partner in this process, both in prevention and in strengthening trust between young people and institutions.
"In addition to the training for police officers that is being conducted simultaneously in Serbia and Albania, regional trainings for journalists, as well as for representatives of youth organizations, are planned in the coming period. These trainings will be held in Belgrade and Tirana."
She believes it is important for all professionals to come together and work together, whether they are, as she stated, journalists, police officers, psychologists, educators, social and child protection professionals, schools...
"Only through teamwork can we protect children and make a real contribution to the fight against organized crime."
Marica Stijepović, a graduate psychologist and psychotherapist from the NGO Psychological Center MIRTA, said that the preventive program was written with the aim of implementing preventive and comprehensive actions aimed at combating juvenile delinquency, especially among children with maladaptive behavior.
"The program was created based on multiple sources, primarily based on three very comprehensive analyses from Albania, Serbia and Montenegro, which have similar judicial systems and similar methods of treating juvenile perpetrators of crimes," said Stijepović.
As she stated, the development of the program also incorporated elements of several successful international models – one from Germany and two from the United States of America, which, as she pointed out, have shown great empirical value and have been confirmed in practice.
"We talk very little about prevention. We talk a lot about fighting, about suppression, and we set very little of that as a positive goal."
She explained that the essence of the program is reflected in the early identification of children who are at risk of engaging in criminal activities, even after the first criminal offense has been committed, as well as their inclusion in a comprehensive support program.
"Within this program, children would have access to various types of services that would be continuous and last as long as they need help. Currently, all these services are provided sporadically, mainly through projects. This program envisages that they will be constantly available, without interruption, which is key to achieving results."
She pointed out that police officers play a particularly important role in the program, as they are often the first to come into contact with children.
"We want to return the role of stability and security to the police, not just control. That's why we started training police officers," explained Stijepović.
He believes that the program has great potential to benefit the entire community, but also each individual child and their family.
"Given that the program is modeled after already successfully implemented models, we believe that its effect would be very favorable. However, we need to invest a lot of effort as a society. Support is needed from all parts of the system, from police officers onward. We must all understand this as our task. The potential gains are great, but great effort is also required."
One of the training participants, police inspector for combating general crime in the Municipality of Bijelo Polje Danilo Smolović, said that through regular work they often encounter young people who are in conflict with the law, stating that this is precisely why such gatherings are very useful to them.
"At these seminars, we gain new knowledge, especially because the trainers are people with extensive experience, who come from social work centers and various other institutions. They, just like us, have encountered numerous challenges, but from a different perspective. Through such exchanges of experience, we view certain facts and situations from multiple angles, which helps us to reach common opinions and positions," said Smolović.
He believes that such events are useful not only for education, but also for establishing contacts with people with whom they could cooperate in the future or seek support in solving challenges in this area.
"This allows us to exchange knowledge and experiences, as well as respond faster and more efficiently."
He said that during the training he had the opportunity to learn a lot of new things, including European practices.
"These are experiences that we, working daily within police stations, often cannot easily access, because we are limited in time and space. That is why such trainings are extremely important," said Smolović.
The training is part of a regional project, financially supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Smart Balkans regional program, which is aimed at civil society organizations from the Western Balkans, and is implemented by the Center for the Promotion of Civil Society (CPCD) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) from North Macedonia, and the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) from Albania.
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