As part of efforts to help prevent young people from becoming criminals, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities held a regional training course on multi-stakeholder co-operation in youth crime prevention for law enforcement and social services professionals from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 13 and 14 May.
The 28 participants were law enforcement and social services sector representatives who work with and for youth. They took part in interactive sessions, group work, and expert-led discussion to strengthen their knowledge and skills in identifying and prioritizing youth crime cases, and addressing root causes such as social vulnerability, exposure to criminal recruitment and lack of access to support services.
The course participants also explored how international models can be adapted to address local and regional challenges. They placed particular emphasis on the German "Kurve Kriegen" youth crime prevention initiative as an example of a good practice.
Looking at the future, participants discussed next steps and national follow-up activities, including potential pilot youth crime prevention practices inspired by international good practices. They concluded the event by committing to turning their ideas into concrete action and strengthening early prevention efforts across Central Asia.
The training course was part of the OSCE-wide multi-year extrabudgetary project " Enhancing youth crime and drug use prevention through education on legality and awareness campaigns addressing threats of organized crime and corruption ", funded by Germany with additional support from Andorra, Finland, Italy, Norway, Poland and Thailand.
