Tag: crime prevention

Launch of the RÉSAL’s community of practice

The ICPC had the pleasure of organizing the launch of a series of workshops and activities offered by the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (Network for exchange and local action support, RÉSAL) as part of the development of its community of practice. Supported by the city of Montreal, this process aims to provide a bigger space for the sharing knowledge and experience around different forms of violence committed and suffered by youth aged 12 to 25. It is specially targeted at community workers in the North-East of the island of Montreal to equip them to deal with various problems met in their daily activities.

For the first theme of the fall on violence prevention in street gangs, the local stakeholders were able to attend a day-long workshop given by René-André Brisebois, instructor and lecturer at the University of Montreal for the last decade, and Professional Coordinator of the Institut universitaire jeunes en difficulté (IUJD)’s Center of Expertise.

Aiming to deconstruct common prejudices around street gangs and criminalized youth networks, the workshop highlighted some key aspects:

  • The ethnicized dimension of the term “street gang” and the complex reality of this phenomenon;
  • The social and personal characteristics pf gang members, as well as the affiliation and disaffiliation trajectories of youth within these groups;
  • The most effective approaches, preventive actions, and interventions for preventing the joining of gangs and for reducing related crimes.

Overall, around 15 participants were present at the workshop given at the BAnQ Grande bibliothèque and all sanitary recommendations were followed. This first workshop will be followed by clinical supervision activities this fall to delve deeper into the issues raised from the fieldworkers’ experience.

More information about other training sessions offered:

Sexual violence prevention

Online hate prevention

Street work and youth intervention

These training sessions were carried out with the financial support of the City of Montreal.

The ICPC takes part in a CMNCP conference on urban safety

On Tuesday, October 5th, the ICPC was on a panel as part of the virtual conference: “Community Safety in the Midst of a Global Pandemic: Who Are We Leaving Behind?” organized by the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention (CMNCP), an ICPC partner, that took place from October 4th to 6th, 2021, gathering nearly 80 participants.

The session in which the ICPC took part was called “Eradicating Violence: Essentials That Do Not Leave People Behind” and discussed community safety and crime prevention, as well as an evidence-based and inclusive approach to violence prevention. Questions discussed included:

  • What are the evidence-based solutions that should be more used in Canada?
  • How to implement these solutions?
  • What can we learn from cities that succeeded in making changes necessary to succeed?
  • Can we learn from cities like London, UK, that applied a public health model to violence prevention?

The ICPC would like to thank the CMNCP for the invitation.

The ICPC participates in a conference on urban safety in a pandemic

The ICPC is invited to participate in the virtual conference “Community Safety in the Midst of a Global Pandemic: Who Are We leaving behind?” organized by the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention (CMNCP), an ICPC partner. The ICPC will be part of a panel called “Eradicating Violence: Essentials That Do Not Leave People Behind” on October 5, from 11 AM to 12:30 PM (EST).

This conference will be held from October 4 to 6, 2021, and aims to support urban and rural municipalities and indigenous communities, organizations, groups, and individuals in their crime prevention and urban safety efforts in the communities and areas where they live. The conference will address many questions including the notion of safety, the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on urban safety, links between systemic issues such as racism or social justice, and urban safety and the prevention of hate and violent extremism. The deadline for signing up is October 1, 2021.

Learn more and sign up: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cmncp-2021-virtual-conference-tickets-160796082411

Local safety portrait presented to the Montreal North borough

At the end of 2020, the ICPC, in collaboration with sociologists Mariam Hassaoui (TELUQ) and Victor Armony (UQAM), started developing a local safety portrait of violence committed and suffered by youth in the borough of Montreal North. This portrait should better identify the needs of youth between 12 and 25 years of age in Montreal North and, in 2021, support a call for collaborative projects acting on contributing factors of violence in youth such as:

  • Violence in intimate and sexual relationships;
  • Physical, verbal, and psychological violence;
  • Sense of belonging and trust in authority figures.

These elements have been analysed in four contexts: private, academic, external public, and internal public, and take the gender of the presumed perpetrators and of the victims into account.

The local safety portrait was presented in several instances throughout the month of June:

  1. To the borough’s executive committee;
  2. To the borough’s local government;
  3. To the procedure’s steering committee.

By taking stock of violence committed and suffered by youth, this portrait will lay the foundation for concerted action.

Webinar series on crime prevention and analysis

The ICPC is co-organizing a webinar series this year aiming to further the international conversation on crime prevention and analysis. The other organizing parties are the Department of Public security of the Organization of American States, The International Association of Crime Analysts, and Alberto Hurtado University’s Faculty of Law. The latest edition that took place in June focused on crime prevention and analysis in urban areas of Latin America. A variety of panelists exchanged their knowledge of and innovations in crime prevention on local and community levels. Subjects covered include information use, criminological analysis, and key decisions in safety, crime, and violence interventions. A focus was put on issues concerning vulnerable populations and lands.

The ICPC participates in International Prison Innovation Week

On June 24th, the ICPC presented at International Prison Innovation Week organized in Chile by our partner, the Coinserta network. The ICPC’s presentation, “Developing an Intervention and Prevention Response to Radicalization Leading to Violence in the French Probation System”, was on its research-action developed in 2016 to prevent violent extremism in the French probation system. The presentation aimed to introduce a radicalization prevention tool, specifically for a custodial setting, that could be adapted to the needs of indigenous communities in Chile.

Job offer: Analyst and project officer – Urban safety

The ICPC is looking for an Analyst and project officer in urban safety. Their job will include taking on, developing, implementing, and coordinating various urban safety projects and citizen consultation and participation projects relating to urban safety and to crime and violence prevention. They will be expected to contribute to the development of innovative urban safety practices and of multi-actor participation and co-construction processes, as well as to proactively participate in the ICPC’s development through new partnerships, project proposals, and their presence on social media and at events related to their projects.

The deadline for applying is July 30, 2021. To see the full job offer: Analyst and project officer – Urban Safety

TIJ celebrates it’s 10th anniversary

This year, on June 13th, the Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ) celebrated its 10th anniversary. The ICPC is pleased to be among the TIJ’s collaborators. It is an institution that has been leading Thailand’s efforts in the field of criminal justice, reintegration, and the rule of law for the past 10 years, and is a fellow member of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network Institutes (PNI).

“It is important for us to acknowledge the work of this renowned research institution that promotes a community of justice fostering human rights principles and the rule of law. The extensive involvement of the TIJ’s members has led this institute to become a key player in crime prevention and criminal justice strategies on a global scale, and by fostering important partnerships, it has succeeded in evolving and innovating emerging trends in crime prevention and criminal justice. We are confident that the TIJ will continue to fulfill its mission for many years to come.” – Ann Champoux, Director General at the ICPC

For more information, see the TIJ’s publication: Growing Bright.

The ICPC invited to a conversation on urban security

On June 8th, the ICPC was invited by the European Forum for Urban Safety (Efus) and by the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention (CMNCP) to take part in an informal conversation on urban safety. The main subjects discussed were each of the invited organizations challenges in the face of COVID-19, their on-going projects, and their up-coming events.

Among the attendees were the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), both ICPC members.

The ICPC joins the Traffik Analysis Hub

The ICPC was recently invited to join the Traffik Analysis Hub (TA Hub), which is aimed at global human trafficking prevention. It is a joint effort from across different sectors and industries, governments, and NGO partners, all committed to sharing data and knowledge in order to help the fight against human trafficking.

On May 28th, the ICPC took part in the Analyst monthly call, along with representatives from multiple partners of the TA Hub. At the meeting, some new features of the platform were presented, and some of the practical challenges were discussed as well as possible avenues to overcome them.