Varhad Youth Conference |
(A Community Based Crime Prevention
Programme) |
| While working in the prison setting, we felt the
need to take initiative in crime prevention at community level. We intervene
when the crime is committed but there is urgent need to intervene on the
community level where the young population is on the urge to adopt criminal
behaviour. It is observed that in urban areas basically youth form slums
areas get involve in the crime. The involvement of the youth in the crime
is either because of disturbed family background, or the anti social company
they keep or the urge to earn money in short period of time. The youth
group from any community flows with the energy, enthusiasm or urge to
assert their identity. To achieve this some times they adopt anti-social
behavior, which may lead to criminal activity. The youth form the slum
areas are generally dropped-out from schools & colleges. This is the
population who is engage in marginal income generation activity &
hang out on the street in evening hours. They vest their energy to assert
their identity there. They do not find the proper way to channelise their
enthusiasm, their energy in constructive activity. Therefore to trap this
population who may fall in criminal activity, Varhad initiated community
based crime prevention programme through Varhad Youth Conference. Social
worker and volunteers work together with youth in the age group of 16
to 30 years for crime prevention and development of the youth in particular
& society in general. Youth from various communities in slums and
colleges in the city are actively involved in the programme. We started
Varhad Youth Conference (VYC) with the following objectives. |
1. Facilitate the coordination for crime
prevention. |
2. Establish youth center in targeted
neighbourhood. |
3. Mobilized community based groups and
implement activities for target groups. |
4. Support, and facilitate the development
and implementation of integrated community based crime prevention strategies
at local level |
5. Improve police contact, police - community
relations, & joint efforts for crime prevention |
6. Strengthen social support to youth
who is vulnerable to crime (as an offender or victim). |
7. Long-term intervention with youth
in colleges for crime prevention. |
| We have opened the first community based Youth center
in Belpura Amravati. The center is playing an important role in crime
prevention in the locality. We started the activities through which we
can engage the time of this population in the constructive activity. This
training would help them to acquire the skills, which would give them
the earning source as well as stability in the life. Our workers have
observed that the involvement of the youth in mobile theft, motorcycle
theft is increasing day by day. For the youth from the various colleges
in Amravati, we have started awareness generating programmes on “Drug
Addiction”, “HIV-AIDS” “Crime-Prevention”.
To assert the values & patriotic thinking in youth we have even initiated
the rallies to emphasis the work done by the great leaders like Bhagat
Singh, Shri Shatrapati Shahu Maharaj. |