Good practices for preventing drug-related crime

A wide range of good practices for preventing drug-related crime among young people exist. The European Crime Prevention Network has now published a toolbox presenting a selection of them.

The European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN) has published a toolbox on preventing drug-related crime. This was the theme of Finland’s Presidency of the EUCPN in autumn 2019. The toolbox is supplemented by a backgrounder on the current situation in Finland, drawn up by the Secretariat of the National Council for Crime Prevention. Together, they form the Crime Prevention Review 2019.

In its review, the National Council for Crime Prevention stresses the importance of so-called social and community-level crime prevention activities in preventing drug use and drug-related crime. Through these activities, it is possible to affect the social and economic reasons behind crime. The key message is that the background factors of crime can be influenced at any developmental stage of young people. The risk of committing a crime or becoming a victim of a crime is greater in communities with a high degree of social exclusion and a strong sense of being an outsider. Structural factors in the community, such as polarisation and growing inequality, poor living conditions, unemployment and low levels of education, contribute to the prevalence of crime. Community work aims to increase the feeling of belonging and improve the wellbeing in different neighbourhoods.

The EUCPN Toolbox presents methods, programmes and interventions to reduce drug-related crime. The key message of the publication is that measures to address the drug problem among young people require thorough advance planning and a careful analysis of the target group. Professionals, volunteers, financiers and politicians must be familiar with the phenomenon and the target group they are dealing with and act accordingly. Different kinds of interventions are required for children and young people who have not tried drugs, those who are at risk of trying drugs, those who are experiencing harms from drug use, and those who have committed drug-related crimes.

Inquiries: Saija Sambou, Senior Specialist, [email protected], tel. +358 295 150 352

Preventing drug-related crimes – EUCPN Toolbox 16 and other related material