SIXTH INTERNATIONAL METROPOLIS CONFERENCE

WORKSHOP 24: Crime prevention in relation to integration and ethnic minorities; national and local prevention strategies.

Wednesday, November 28, 2001
14:00 - 17:30


ORGANIZER

Name: Danielle Boon
Title: Senior policy advisor
Affiliation/Name of Institution: Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations
Mailing address: POB 20011, 2500 EA Den Haag, The Netherlands
Telephone number ++31-70-4268088
Fax number: ++31-70-4267638
E-mail address: danielle.boon@minbzk.nl

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Goal: Exchange of information and views regarding national and local policy measures concerning crime prevention and analysis of / further insight into 'best practices

Policy relevance:
Crime in relation to ethnic minorities is a serious threat to integration policy. Not rarely are criminal activities, committed by members of ethnic minorities, a signal of a failing integration process, the outcome of marginalisation and a loss of chances in education and on the labour market. In some cases crime appears to be an act of hostility against the depreciated host community. Many forms of crime are committed in city districts with a high concentration of minorities. Youngsters are easily being engaged in criminal organisations and activities. For policy reasons, the analysis of the impact of ethnic determinators in phenomena of crime, committed by members of ethnic minority groups, is full of complications. For the designing of an effective prevention policy, the insight in the general and specific backgrounds of crime is crucial. Moreover, criminality, committed by members of ethnic minorities highly determines the acceptability of these minorities in the public opinion. The role of the media is decisive and deserves attention.
Topics for discussion:
Political strategies on national, regional and local level, aiming at the prevention of crime among ethnic minorities will be brought up for discussion. In the first session two crime prevention programmes will be brought up for discussion: the Dutch "CRIEM approach" and the originally American "Communities That Care approach".
During the second session police crime prevention strategies will be presented. First of all, the approach of the Dutch police will be presented. Thereafter, a Norwegian theatrical project on the prevention of crime committed by ethnic minorities will be introduced.


DURATION: 2 sessions, each 1,5 hour, of which:

Chairperson: Dr. Hans Boutellier, Head General Policy Youth and Crime Department, Ministry of Justice and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, the Netherlands

1st Session:
Presenters:
-Mr. Anne Luc van der Vegt of Sardes, Utrecht (consultancy for welfare and education): on "The Dutch CRIEM approach"
- Prof. Dr. Josine Junger-Tas, Professor Youth Criminology of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland; Fellow to the E.M.Meijersinstituut, researchschool of the Lawfaculty of Leiden University: on "Communities that Care"

Discussant:
Dr. Hans Werdmölder. Senior Researcher. Head of the Research and Teaching Programme Faculty of Law, Utrecht University the Netherlands. Researchschool for Human Rights

2nd Session:
Presenters:
- Prof. dr. F. Bovenkerk, University of Utrecht: Willem Pompe Insitute Criminology on "Crime prevention by the police and the effects thereof"
- Mr. Erling Bølstad. Senior Police Advisor, City of Oslo, Norway on "A Boal theatre project on tolerance, aimed at the prevention of criminal activities"