Preventing youth violence ” “

Those reported for criminal offences to the police authorities of some European states in 1999 comprised a significant percentage of juveniles. Common to all states was the progressive lowering of the average age at which adolescents enter the world of crime. In the UK juveniles represent 23.9% of those charged, 21.3% in France, 13.1% in Germany, 11% in Denmark, 7% in Finland, 3.9% in Spain, 2.8% in Italy. The most widespread crime is robbery, closely followed by theft. The possession and trafficking of drugs and murder are further crimes committed by European adolescents. Sometimes they initially express their own frustration or alienation through forms of bullying or violent behaviour which are underestimated and are often the precursors of criminal activity proper. The data are those of Censis, which presented the “European Manual for Crime Prevention” a few months ago. We present below some pilot projects formulated and experimented at a local level in various European countries. Denmark. “A new start” is the name of the project devised by the Centre of Method, Development and Quality, which envisages an innovative approach to the problems of delinquent adolescents. With the economic support of the Ministry of Social Affairs and the national Crime Prevention Council, the two-year programme is aimed at markedly aggressive children between the ages of 12 and 17: children in contexts at risk and in the habit of making regular use of drugs and/or alcohol. The project has been tested in four cities in Denmark and has involved thirty or so teenagers. The final result was positive: two thirds of the children involved revealed a significant reduction of aggressive and anti-social behaviour. The programme provides for a first phase lasting six months during which children are taught to understand and control their own emotions and how to relate to others. In the following 18 months they are followed directly in their local environment; parents too are involved in the programme of support. Germany. The aim of the JUBP project, a youth counselling service for social education active in the city of Magdeburg since 1993, is the support and assistance of arrested youngsters in the phase subsequent to their first interrogation by the police. As a rule, a long period elapses between the moment of arrest and the beginning of the trial, and during this period the juvenile is abandoned to his/her own devices, generally confused and at risk of newly breaking the law. After his/her first interrogation, the JUBP intervenes by offering the adolescent the counselling of an expert in social education, who works in full independence of the security forces, Counselling, mediation between the youth and third parties involved (parents, school), compensation for damage caused by minor offences, offers of leisure-time activities in the community services, possible referral to specialized services: these are the kinds of assistance offered. In the last three years the project has been extended to the cities of Halle and Dessau (all in the federal state of Sachsen-Anhalt). Sweden. The community of Flemingsberg, situated to the south of Stockholm, was established to improve relations between youngsters and prevent the incidence of phenomena of aggression. Important measures have been taken by the Annersta School: beginning in 1997, teachers and personnel assumed the commitment to foster dialogue and cohesion between teenagers, to transmit fundamental values to them and to help them to understand the laws in force in the country with the aim of promoting their integration in society. The project’s objectives are: combating marginalization and episodes of xenophobia, preventing juvenile crime and violence between adolescents, encouraging children to develop hobbies and cultivate interests that may develop their personality. The results of the project have been positive: after a few years a significant reduction has been registered in acts of vandalism against school buildings, episodes of aggression and violence between adolescents and an improvement of relations within families. G.P.T.