Prevention is better than cure

In Narva almost 18% of the population is young people under 19. What they do, affects the life in the city. Among the many organizations dealing with the issues of youths, there is the local police department. Narva police has a special unit, whose target is juvenile delinquency.

The reasons for the young-sters' disruptive behaviour are tried to be found. One reason that comes up fairly often is the youths' inability to pass their free time in a meaningful and useful way. Some young people are unable to attend sport clubs or hobby centers because their families simply cannot afford it. As part of the solution, the city supports the NGOs whose activities are tailored to the needs and interests of youngsters. Such organizations let the kids participate in their activities without any fee; besides, the specialists in the organizations offer psychological counseling. A city-funded open youth center has plenty to offer to the young Narvonians: meaningful pass-time opportunities, information on education, career planning and development, writing and carrying out the youth projects.

Also, the commission on juvenile issues was established in Narva. It acts under the auspices of the city government and consists of specialists representing different areas of youth work: social department, educational department, NGOs dealing with youths, as well as the police, the prosecutor, and the criminal supervision. The diversity of representation allows to find an operative and appropriate way of solving the problem for children who break the law, which leads to diminishing the chances for reocurrence of the crime. Together with the parents the specialists examine the causes of the child's unlawful behaviour and decide on the measures to be taken and specialists to be assigned for work with the child. As our experience reveals, one of the best methods for correcting juvenile delinquent behaviour is community service. It gives a young person a chance to remedy the consequences of bad behaviour and realize the amount of responsibility. However, this is not the only way of crime prevention. The city supports and organizes projects involving young people doing good for the benefits of the city. After all, it is not for nothing that the city of Narva has received thetitleofthe"child-friendly city".