ICPC shares its expertise at the First Inter-American Conference of Crime Observatories and Analysis Centres

The ICPC had the privilege of participating in the First Inter-American Conference of Crime Analysis Observatories and Centres, held online from November 21 to 22, 2023.

Organized by the Department of Public Security of the Organization of American States (DSP/OAS) and the Latin American Institute for Security and Democracy, and attended by some 150 participants, this was an opportunity for many representatives of research organizations, political and legal institutions, to exchange views on new methodologies, tools and public policies to combat the rise in insecurity and all forms of crime in the Americas.

It was in this context that Oscar Figueroa, strategic consultant for Latin America at the ICPC, moderated a panel on the impact of different tools used and their application to geospatial crime analysis. This panel included an intervention by CentroGeo, with the participation of Pablo López Ramírez, General Director, Oscar Gerardo Sánchez Siordia, Coordinator (Yucatán headquarters), and Carlos Vilalta, Research Professor, in addition to an intervention by Arturo Arango, Director of CrimiPol, who had the opportunity to present tools and products developed from geospatial crime analysis.

Thank you for the invitation!

The ICPC attended the 2nd Montreal Forum on Combating Armed Violence

We were pleased to be invited, on October 25 and 26, to the second edition of the Montreal Forum on Combating Armed Violence, organized by the City of Montreal and the Montreal Police Service (SPVM).

This Forum was an opportunity for nearly 150 participants, including many representatives from institutions and community organizations working in the field of health, safety and school sectors, to assess the state of armed violence in Montreal, with a focus on joint commitments and concrete prevention initiatives in the public environment, as well as in city neighbourhoods and schools.     

The event addressed a range of issues, including the public health approach aimed at protecting the health of individuals who are victims of violence, the fight against all forms of online violence, the dangers of cyberspace and more.    

Also, in order to promote the Montreal model for a safe city implemented in February 2022 by the city and the SPVM, which includes the active participation of youth, the Forum provided a platform for the dissemination of projects “By and for young people” from a number of Montreal associations and organizations, which provided insights into solutions to combat armed violence.   

Thank you to the City of Montreal for the invitation! 

Two activities offered in summer 2023 by RÉSAL as part of its community of practice

As part of building the community of practice of the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (RÉSAL), of which the ICPC is a member and coordinator, two thematic training cycles were held in summer 2023. One cycle focused on “Restorative justice prevention with young people”, on 7 June, and the other cycle focused on the theme of “Preventing violence committed against LGBTQ+ youth”, on 14 June at the Centre St-Pierre (part 1) and on 31 August 2023 online (part 2).  

The RÉSAL community of practice brings together field workers, community organisations and institutions working with young people in the Greater Montreal area. The aim of these activities, relating to violence committed and suffered by young people aged 12 to 25, was to equip participants to deal with the various problems encountered in their day-to-day work.   

Prevention through restorative justice with young people, Catherine Lapierre, Director of Restorative Justice Services at Equijustice and Laurence Wauthier, Coordinator of Equijustice – Montreal West. .

The aim of this first training session was to provide people affected by crime (victims, perpetrators, witnesses, family members) or conflict with the tools they need to engage in a restorative and mediation process, and to highlight the principles of restorative justice and its importance in offering confidential, safe and respectful listening and discussion forums for all concerned.  

Preventing violence committed against LGBTQ+ youth, Julie-Maude Beauchesne, psychosocial counsellor and trainer, and Olivia Baker, head of the ProAllié programme at Fondation Émergence

For this second training course, in a context of increasing violence against young people from the LGBTQ+ community due to homophobia and transphobia, the workshops provided tools to help prevent such violence, by helping to create an environment where acceptance and inclusion are valued, and to develop the ability to detect problematic situations quickly as well as the means to provide support and assistance.  

A big thank you to the invited speakers and participants for these exchanges that contributed to the success of the events!   

A series of activities by the RÉSAL community of practice will be scheduled for autumn/winter 2023. 

ICPC presents a report at the 28th German Prevention Congress

Erich Marks, Executive Director of the Crime Prevention Council of Lower Saxony and Ann Champoux
Ann Champoux and Jumma Assiago, Global Coordinator of the Safer Cities Programme at UN-Habitat

From June 12 to 13, 2023, Ann Champoux, Director General of the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC), was in Mannheim, Germany, to take part in the 28th German Prevention Congress, which this year focused on crisis management and prevention. Among the nearly 2,000 participants, Ms. Champoux had the opportunity to meet with guests of honor, including community stakeholders, international organizations, and governments.

The ICPC was able to represent Quebec and Canada at the conference, highlighting its work through a video broadcast on the conference platform. In this video, ICPC analyst Janny Montinat illustrates the research work carried out on one of our reports published in 2022, which focused on the “Glorification of firearms on social media and prevention best practices: an overview”. During the event, Ann Champoux took part in various conferences and workshops covering topics such as women’s leadership in urban safety, managing feelings of insecurity, community policing planning, co-constructing safer neighborhoods, anticipating safety threats in public spaces and surveillance to achieve global safety and prevention goals.

The two days spent in Germany gave the ICPC the opportunity to make some valuable meetings. Ann Champoux met with Dr. Burkhard Hasenpusch, a former ICPC collaborator, an expert in many crime-related fields, and a great expert on the current situation in Germany. Among our members, we were able to strengthen our partnerships with important contacts such as Johannes de Haan, Head of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Justice Section, UNODC, Jumma Assiago, Global Coordinator of UN-Habitat’s Safer Cities Program, Elizabeth Johnston, Executive Director of EFUS, Felix Munger, Executive Director of the Canadian Municipal Crime Prevention Network, Erich Marks, Executive Director of the German Foundation for Crime Prevention and Offender Support (DVS) and of the German Crime Prevention Congress, and former member of the ICPC Executive Committee, as well as representatives of Safe.brussels.

Representatives of the European Forum for Urban Security, UN-Habitat and the Canadian Municipal Crime Prevention Network

A very interesting meeting was also held with Dr. John Rook during his conference on the criminalization of poverty. Dr. Rook is a renowned expert in this field, founder and Director of the Canadian Poverty Institute at Ambrose University in Alberta, as well as President and CEO of the Simon House Recovery Center in Calgary. Their discussion helped deepen our knowledge about the social reintegration of ex-offenders and explore partnership opportunities between the ICPC and Alberta organizations.

We would like to thank the 28th German Prevention Congress and all our partners for the very positive exchanges that took place over the two days.

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.

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 the official launch of the Table d’action et de concertation montréalaise en exploitation sexuelle (TACMES)

On March 22, 2023, the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) took part in the official launch of the Table d’action et de concertation montréalaise en exploitation sexuelle (TACMES), which took place at the Centre St-Pierre in Montreal. The event gathered between 40 and 60 participants who attended this key meeting for the prevention of sexual exploitation.

ICPC presented the project to develop a second line of sexual exploitation prevention services for youth aged 12 to 25 as well as an interactive map that lists the contacts of all TACMES members, as well as other stakeholders in Montreal and the rest of Quebec. This map is available to all TACMES members to check and use as a directory.

A moment of networking allowed all participants to exchange with many of the organizations present, such as Les Survivantes, Plein Milieu, the International Bureau for Children’s Rights, L’Anonyme, Dans la rue, Réseau Enfant-Retour, and many others.

This first TACMES meeting was a success and promises future fruitful collaborations between members to fight against sexual exploitation in Montreal. ICPC is proud to be part of this initiative and is committed to contributing to the prevention of this issue.

The ICPC in France for its 7th international conference

On October 5 and 6, 2022, the 7th International Conference on Observation, Analysis and Prevention of Insecurity, organized by the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime, 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, took place in Paris. The conference was held at the headquarters of the International Union of Railways.  

For this 7th edition, the theme of the conference was: Security in Mobility.

To mark the beginning of this 7th edition of the international conference, an opening cocktail was held at the residence of the Canadian Ambassador in Paris. Our partner, the Canadian Embassy in France, and Amy Baker, Deputy Head of Mission, welcomed partners and speakers, for the first meeting between all the participants of this conference. 

The event included plenary sessions, workshops, and field visits. The conference gathered many participants from all over the world (nearly ten nationalities were represented among more than fifty speakers) concerned by the observation, the analysis, and the good practices related to the improvement of security in mobility, such as political agents, researchers, representatives of transport operators, NGOs, and institutional representatives.

Nearly 180 participants attended the conference, coming from 138 different companies and representing more than 20 countries from 4 continents.  

The ICPC would like to thank the Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada for their financial support in the development of this conference. We were pleased to have Omar Alghabra’ support, Minister of Transport of Canada, via a video contribution and to host Michelle Boisvert, Delegate General of Quebec in Paris, in person, taking part in the opening remarks.

The opening plenary of the conference was introduced by the ICPC. Michelle Côté, Director of Research, and Florilène Cornier, Analyst and Project Officer, presented the conceptual framework of the conference around the current issues of safety in mobilities that are spread across the world. It was the opportunity to share the organization’s different expertise on the topic as well as the importance of a differential analysis of these safety issues from one country to another.  

During these two days of conferences, workshops were dedicated to specific phenomena, such as the fight against fraud, harassment in transport, prevention against the terrorist threat and crisis management, analysis of crime in transport and aggression to staff. These topics, among many others, were addressed by various representatives of transport operators discussing key security issues and how to prevent them.   

Discussions about effective tools to measure, analyze and study the phenomenon, examples of strong pathways and platforms for knowledge transfer, presentations of crime and safety approaches specific to mobility, effective evaluation as well as dissemination of best practices, were also part of these exchanges. 

Participants were also able to select and participate in one of the five different visits and demonstrations to further their practical knowledge:  

  • Two dog team demonstrations, cyno-detection, and cyno-attack by the Société nationale des chemins de fer français est l’entreprise ferroviaire publique française (SNCF).  
  • A demonstration of intervention techniques by the SNCF.  
  • A training offered by the Régie autonome des transports parisiens (RATP) on awareness for victims of harassment. Presentation of the Stand UP project and the 5D method in order to learn how to react safely in a harassment situation in a public place, as a victim or a witness.   
  • A visit organized by the RATP of the security devices and the security headquarters at the Gare de Lyon metro station. This visit allowed experts to discover the operating methods of security interventions.   
  • Presentation of a social collection bus by the RATP. This presentation was an opportunity to discover an original prevention system for reaching out to homeless people and fighting social exclusion and ensuring the safety of its transport systems.    

Being at its seventh event, this international conference has truly become a meeting point for crime observation and crime analysis. 

It should be noted that the proceedings of the conference will soon be available online.  

For any questions or requests, please write to info@cipc-icpc.org. 

Launch of the 7th International Conference of the ICPC

7TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE OBSERVATION, ANALYSIS AND PREVENTION OF INSECURITY: SECURITY IN MOBILITY

Paris, October 4, 2022 – The ICPC, 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, announces the opening of its 7th International Conference on the Observation, Analysis and Prevention of Insecurity, on October 5 and 6, 2022, at the premises of the International Union of Railways (16, rue Jean-Rey, Paris).

As part of the series of international conferences on crime observation and analysis organized by the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime since 2007, the 7th edition will focus on the theme of security in mobility.

The event is expected to welcome 200 participants including nearly 50 international speakers. These experts and practitioners will share their knowledge as well as their initiatives and best practices in the prevention of insecurity in mobility.

The conference will address various levels of analysis: global trends in mobility security, national and local government strategies in prevention, working experiences of community institutions and associations, new research approaches, as well as workshops on specific and practical aspects in this field.

It will aim to provide a space for exchange between experts in mobility security in order to identify avenues for innovation, action, knowledge transfer and applied research as well as partnership opportunities between key actors in these fields.

Date and place of the conference: 5 and 6 October 2022, International Union of Railways, 16, rue Jean-Rey, Paris.

The conference program is available at: https://cipc-icpc.org/en/save-the-date-international-conference-october-4-6-2022/

Sources

Vanessa Reggio
Director of Communications and Public Relations
vreggio@cipc-icpc.org

A new ICPC intern

In January 2022, the ICPC welcomed a new employee to the team: Eva Croci.

Eva, Research Assistant Intern, is currently doing her master’s in international public policy at Sherbrooke University. As part of her studies, she is doing a supervised project on Western far-right terrorism with the UNESCO Chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism, an ICPC partner. She gained experience as a research assistant at Sherbrooke University where she worked on issues related to terrorism and cybercrime. As part of her internship, she will work especially on projects with a focus on the prevention of the glorification of firearms on social media.