Author: CIPC-ICPC

Discussion on the impact of street gangs on girls: trauma, sexual exploitation and violence

On 8 June, the ICPC took part in a lunchtime talk at which Anne-Marie Ducharme, a doctoral student in psychoeducation at the University of Sherbrooke, presented a report on the clinical consequences of trauma suffered by adolescent girls in contact with street gangs and their involvment with sexual exploitation and violence.  

The meeting, which brought together various institutional, academic and community players, including members of RÉSAL, allowed the ICPC to benefit from the experience gained by stakeholders in the field, to learn about the concerns shared by the practice groups and to make conceptual progress on its projects funded by the Urban Safety Laboratory of the Quebec Ministry of Public Safety on recruitment by street gangs and the sexual exploitation of teenagers. 

The ICPC strengthens its international influence at the 32nd session of the CCPCJ in Vienna

The International Centre for the Prevention of Crime recently participated in the  32nd session of the UNODC Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, which took place from 22 to 25 May 2023 in Vienna, Austria. The event included the spring coordination meeting of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme (UNCPJ) network, of which the ICPC is a member.

Ann Champoux, Director General of the ICPC, represented the organisation at this 32nd meeting, marking the return of this in-person event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During the event, Ann Champoux attended the main PNI workshop, which focused on “Improving the operation of the criminal justice system to ensure access to justice and a safe and secure society”, as well as taking part in conferences on key crime prevention issues.   

This international meeting was an opportunity for the ICPC to consolidate its partnerships with several major staekeholders involved in violence prevention. Alongside meetings with members of our network, the ICPC had the pleasure of talking to Ian Tennant, head of the Vienna multilateral representation of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), and Walter Kemp, director of global strategy against transnational crime at GI-TOC. They were able to discuss the ICPC’s Urban Safety Laboratory model and explore partnership opportunities between the two organizations.  

The ICPC would like to thank the organizers of the PNI meeting, as well as all the participants and partners with whom productive exchanges has been held. 

The ICPC team is growing!

In June 2023, ICPC welcomed three new team members: Solal Holtz, Élise Gelattly and Océane Couturier.   

Élise, a communications student at the Université du Québec à Montréal, and Océane, a law student at the Université de Montréal, joined the team under the Young Canada Works (YCW) student employment programme as communications assistant and research assistant.   

Solal, digital communications assistant, obtained his bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and his certificate in international cooperation and solidarity from the Université de Montréal. Having previously worked at the International Bureau for Children’s Rights, Solal has developed his skills in the field of communications and social media management, which he’ll bring to the organization in order to contribute effectively to its missions. 

For more information on their career paths : https://cipc-icpc.org/lequipe/

Welcome to the team! 

ICPC takes part in the second edition of the Colloque Urbanité et jeunes marginalisés : de la confrontation à la bienveillance

The ICPC took an active part in the second edition of the Colloque Urbanité et jeunes marginalisés : de la confrontation à la bienveillance, held on May 24, 2023 in Montréal-Nord and attended by nearly 200 people. The event, jointly organized by Café-Jeunesse Multiculturel and the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Research on Community and Educational Services, aimed to bring together social, institutional and academic players to debate and exchange views on the challenges and opportunities of caring for marginalized youth.

The day kicked off with a series of conferences addressing issues such as the “non-recourse” to rights and services, the representation of deviance and delinquency among girls, as well as armed violence and political perspectives among young people. The second part of the event focused on initiatives and solutions put in place to meet the needs of young people in difficulty. Various presentations were given, including on citizen initiative incubators, community mental health clinics and understanding the causes and forms of youth violence.

The day ended with a plenary session, where ICPC members had the opportunity to network with other participants. The meeting established valuable links with other organizations and strengthened collaborations to better care for marginalized youth and promote their well-being within the community.

ICPC participation in an IBCR youth evening

ICPC is proud to have participated in the event “Mieux prévenir l’exploitation sexuelle: Parole aux Jeunes!”, organized by the International Bureau for Children’s Rights (IBCR) on May 11 at the Centre PHI in Montreal.

The event gave a voice to young people and discussed the important issue of sexual exploitation of young people, particularly in the context of the current pandemic.

The event represented the culmination of two years of hard work by five groups of young teens from the Greater Montreal area who had participated in the “Parole aux jeunes!” project. Over 70 teenagers (aged 14 to 17) took a close look at the complex issue of sexual exploitation of young people, particularly in the context of the current pandemic. The teens shared their perspectives, exchanged ideas, and reacted to recent prevention campaigns in the province, in order to better understand the problem and make recommendations to combat this scourge.

Some recommendations suggested by the teens:

  • Partnership with a well-known Instagrammer or celebrity to raise awareness and make the subject less taboo
  • Training for parents
  • Explain to young people how to recognize toxic signs.

In conclusion, the ICPC is proud to have taken part in the event “Preventing sexual exploitation: Young People Speak Out” organized by the IBCR, and is committed to an ongoing exploration of mutual collaboration on similar themes, with a common concern for prevention.

ICPC collaboration in the PREVARM living lab project

The International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) is pleased to announce its collaboration with Denis Lafortune, Professor of the School of Criminology at the Université of Montréal, and his team of researchers for the project “PRÉVARM: a living lab dedicated to the prevention of armed violence in the metropolitan area”. This innovative project aims to bring together key stakeholders such as the scientific community, organizations, community workers and people living in the Northeast of Montreal to experiment and develop innovative practices or approaches to prevent gun violence and maintain a safe environment for all.

The PREVARM Living Lab project responds to a crucial need for gun violence prevention in the Montreal metropolitan area. ICPC is pleased to participate in this ambitious project and to work with partners committed to creating a safer future for the Montreal community.

Proceedings of the 7th International Conference of the ICPC on the security of mobility: a review of the paths of action, innovation and prevention

From October 4 to 6, 2022, the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime organized the 7th International Conference on Observation, Analysis and Prevention of Insecurity, in collaboration with the French Ministry of Transport, the International Union of Railways, the International Association of Public Transport, the Union of Public Transports, Safe.brussels, the Institute of Higher Studies of the Ministry of the Interior, the government of Quebec and the government of Canada. The event took place at the headquarters of the International Union of Railways in Paris.

The main theme of the conference was Security in Mobility. Through a collaboration with French, Belgian, and Canadian partners, the event succeeded in presenting various approaches and raising awareness on multiple issues surrounding safety and insecurity in mobility. This conference revealed the importance of the risks and challenges faced by public transport, which is part of our daily lives.

The conference included several workshops addressing a wide range of topics related to safety and insecurity in mobility. These topics included the feeling of insecurity, public transit harassment, crisis management in the face of the terrorist threat, verbal abuse and aggression against staff, fare evasion, crisis management, and technological prevention tools, social prevention of violence and incivilities, crisis management: sharing experiences on current crisis situations, and situational prevention and the CPTED approach in mobility. 

These proceedings are a complete synthesis of all the information shared during the activities, as well as the exchanges between the different speakers and the participants. They are now available for consultation.

The main points to remember are as follows:

  1. The issue of harassment on public transport is a major problem, particularly detrimental to women.
  2. Crime does not occur randomly; it is influenced by circumstances and factors that facilitate criminal opportunities and acts of delinquency.
  3. There is a paradoxical cohabitation between individuals in great precariousness and users who pay for a service and naturally expect a certain level of quality.

You can access the proceedings by clicking on the corresponding links:

English version

French version

Spanish version

Participation of the ICPC in a session of exchange of experiences and innovation of the Inter-American Community of Crime Observatories

The first session of the 2023 Inter-American Community of Crime Observatories, Department of Public Security of the Organization of American States, was held on April 26. The ICPC was represented at the event by Oscar Figueroa, the organization’s Latin American consultant.

The session focused on the transfer of prevention and security models between two municipalities in the region, and the important role played by Observatories in the design, implementation, and monitoring of projects. Representatives from the municipality of Peñalolén (Chile) and the municipality of Nezahualcóyotl (Mexico) shared their respective models of rights promotion and social prevention, as well as their model of social proximity, and also shared the lessons learned from the exchange and transfers carried out. Security experts emphasized the importance of collaboration and communication between crime observatories to achieve effective security solutions.