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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. |
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