Rationale and objectives of the exchange visit, presentation of participants

Transcription

1 Internal Report from an exchange visit with the partners from Lithuania realised within the Public Security Specialised Training project Paris, 12/02 18/ Rationale and objectives of the exchange visit, presentation of participants From 12/02/2006 till 18/02/2006 the European Forum for Urban Safety hosted three delegates from Lithuania who were interested in gaining practical experience and expertise about crime prevention programmes in France. Delegates names and functions: Mr. Dainius DOBILAS, chief of the police forces of Raseiniai district, Ms. Laura KIETYTE, National (Internal) evaluator of the Juvenile Justice Program, Law Institute of Lithuania, Vilnius, Ms Rita BARTAŠIENE, director of a non- governmental organization for protection of women rights, Anykščiai district. The visit was organised within the Public Security Specialised Training project financed with the Leonardo da Vinci Mobility programme. It was realised by the Law Institute of Lithuania in cooperation with Anyksciai Community Centre and Raseiniai Municipality. The principal objective of the visit was to help the delegates acquire valuable experience of institutions from both local and national levels about implemented crime prevention programmes in France, their management and evaluation. The objective of the visit resulted from a shortage of highly-qualified specialists in Lithuania where specific guidelines and criteria need to be developed for a complete process of selecting, financing, managing, implementing and controlling crime prevention programmes. Crime prevention context in Lithuania There exists a National System of Programmes for the Prevention of Crime in Lithuania, which consists of several separate programmes, very often without direct interrelation and cohesion inbetween. The main programme, the National Programme of the Prevention and Control of Crime (2003) has been divided into a plan of measures ( ) and an integrated programme for the prevention and control of motor vehicle theft ( ). There are also plans for the creation of a programme for social work with the risk group families. In addition, there is a whole group of individual programmes in the field of crime prevention which are the following: - Programme for Prevention of Organised Crime and Corruption ( ) and National Anti-Corruption Programme ( ), 1

2 - Programme for the Prevention and Control of Trafficking in Human Beings ( ), - National Programme for the Control of Drugs and Prevention of Drugs Addiction ( ), - National Programme for the Prevention of Children and Juvenile Delinquency ( ), - Juvenile Justice Programme ( ), - National Programme for the Aid For Children and Prevention of Violence against Children ( ), - National Programme for Children Day Centres ( ), - Programme for Children and Youth Socialisation ( ). According to Ms. Laura KIETYTE, a researcher from the Law Institute of Lithuania, these programmes will not bring desired results due to the lack of co-relation between developed programmes and lack of overall coordination. In general, national programmes in Lithuania are directly implemented by local authorities. There are also possibilities for local governments to come up with their own initiatives for solving their security problems. The main problem concerning the crime prevention programmes in Lithuania is related to their evaluation. There exist no reliable, worked-out methods of monitoring or evaluation and audits do not play any greater role. Lithuanian Police There are officers in the Lithuanian Police systems (2004) that are trained at the Lithuanian Law University, Vilnius and Kaunas Police Faculties. The Lithuanian Police system currently consists of the Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, territorial police units, police professional training unit and specialised police units. It is the local Police Units that are established in municipal administrative centres for the supervision of their territory. They ensure public order and security, create and implement programmes aimed at crime prevention, the protection of inhabitants lives, health and property etc. They report to the corresponding Regional Police Headquarters, City Mayor and municipal community. The police are financed from the state budget. Upon mutual agreement, territorial police units and municipal institutions create and realise joint programmes aimed at crime prevention which are financed from municipal budgets. From their budgets, municipal institutions may finance other programmes realised by territorial police units. Other non-budget means can also be used for the financing of the police. Law Institute of Lithuania, Vilnius Although crime prevention has not been the main issue for the Law Institute, it is currently becoming more and more important. 2

3 The Institute has recently carried out a survey at schools that focussed on the issue of violence and bullying. Victimisation covered teachers, peers and students. According to the results, 50% of them experienced violence or bullying. It also turned out that almost 50% of those who were bullied subsequently become bullies. Moreover, the Institute is going to participate in International Self-Report Delinquency coordinated by the partner from the Netherlands and in cooperation with France. Questionnaires and surveys carried out within the project will concern the phenomenon of latent delinquency, incl. youth delinquency at schools, as well as the issue of sexual abuse and many others. Although there is a National Programme aimed at prevention of violence against children, there is no obligation for the cities to develop similar programmes and schools do not wish external stakeholders to get involved in the problem of violence and bullying. The city and district of Raseiniai The city of Raseiniai ( inhabitants) has several programmes for preventing the crime. These concern mainly road security along with prevention and control of motor vehicle theft. This is related to the fact that through Reseiniai pass two main roads and the city records an increasing number of thefts, the main crime problem in the area. Besides, the police are occupied with the crimes committed by big organised groups. In the area of Raseiniai, CCTV systems are gaining more and more interest, but lack of financial resources impedes their implementation. The financing is provided almost exclusively by the city with a small part guaranteed by the state. The citizens are not particularly in favour of cameras installation. Anykščiai Comunity Center Anykščiai Community Centre is an NGO established to protect women and children. The Centre provides legal and psychological counselling, information and accommodation for women and children that experience violence. It has been also realising prevention programmes targeted at male offenders, but without greater success. According to Ms Rita BARTAŠIENE, director of the Centre, male perpetrators tend to behave even more violently after being interviewed by social workers from her organisation and the police. Anykščiai Community Centre has been operating for four years now and the financing is provided by the State and EU funds. The level of financing from the city is very low. Other transversal crime-related subjects: In Lithuania the issue of drugs is usually discussed in the context of consumption and drug dealing at schools. Recently a proposal has been issued for the introduction to schools of the tests verifying the presence and sort of drugs in students organisms. The adequate law should be approved soon, though the question of human rights remains, as well as the high costs of tests and the required parents accord. Mediation is a practice not frequently applied in Lithuania, and it is solely NGOs that are involved in its implementation. For that reason, the participants very much appreciated the discussion with Mr Hibat TABIB, the director of the AFPAD Association, which helped them 3

4 better understand the benefits and the mechanisms of mediation in the city of Pierefitte-sur- Seine. Immigration. Lithuania is a very homogeneous country as regards its population. The only minority group of considerable size inhabiting the country is the Roma minority. With regard to this group the Lithuanian government intents to take the measures leading to the deconcentration of their camps in order to reduce the opportunities for drug trafficking. Instead of immigration, Lithuania is now facing a problem of emigration of highly specialised work-force, leaving the country after the enlargement of the EU. Trafficking in human beings is of minor significance in Lithuania since, according to the statistics, the number of persons concerned is very low (e.g. two persons recorded in Raseinie in 2005). Results of the research carried out by the Law Institute of Lithuania show that the trafficked women very often gave written statements with their agreement to leave the country and in the cases of minors leaving Lithuania their parents signed necessary documents. Therefore, it is supposed that in at least some cases the persons concerned must have been aware of the risk they were running. Presentation of on-site visits and meetings. Within the exchange project several on-site visits and meetings were organised in Paris and in the area neighbouring Paris. The visit started with familiarising the representatives with the structure, functioning and projects carried out by the hosting institution and the French Forum for Urban Safety with a special focus on preventing crime, in particular: - democratic and local responses to the issue of drugs abuse, - violence at school, - mediation in Europe, - immigration and crime prevention, - camera monitoring (CCTV), - creation of the network of universities and institutions offering education in the area of urban safety in Europe. Taking into account the fact that two of the delegates represented institutions carrying their activities on the local level the project included on-site visits in a locally based institution, Maison de Justice et de Droit offering legal information and counselling to citizens and two cities in the Paris area. Visiting Aulnay-Sous-Bois allowed the Lithuanian representatives to obtain information about elaboration of a local safety strategy and its realisation via implementation of local projects incl. a local observatory, urban regeneration projects, a local mediation scheme. The other on-site visit in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, which nominated itself a European city of mediation, allowed for a greater understanding of the prevention aspect of mediation in cases of local conflicts. A subsequent meeting was organised in the Interdepartmental Delegation for the City (Délégation Interministérielle à la Ville, DIV), Discussion with the employees of the prevention department provided the delegates with the details about financing for the city policy and support for local engineering as regards crime prevention. 4

5 A visit in the Central Public Security Department (Direction Centrale de la Sécurité Publique) within the Ministry of the Interior of France helped the delegates to understand the role and the functioning of the National Police in France as regards prevention and repression of minor and moderate crime as well as keeping order and protecting the country against terrorism. The Lithuanian representatives had a chance to meet the magistrates from the Ministry of Justice from the departments of the access to law, urban policy as well as from the department of victim assistance. A detailed presentation of local contracts of security responded to the specific needs of participants to learn about how different institutional partners work together to prevent crime in their cities. A final meeting in the Department of Justice Protection of the Youth within the Ministry of Justice facilitated comparison between French and Lithuanian systems of protecting and punishing young delinquents and presented successful educational measures and judiciary instances in the area of protection of the youth. Main questions raised by the Lithuanian representatives. 1. Central Public Security Department of the Ministry of the Interior. (Direction Centrale de la Sécurité Publique auprès de la Ministère de l intérieur. During the visit in the above department direct comparisons between French and Lithuanian police forces were made with regard to community policing ( the police of proximity ). The delegates were interested in the cooperation between the police and different partner institutions, very much underlined by the main police superintendent, esp. in the cases of domestic violence or school violence. The issue of urban violence was also widely discussed. Provocative behaviour in the form of setting malicious car fires is very rare in Lithuania. Therefore, the reasons for the origins of these acts requested. 2. Department of justice protection of the youth of the Ministry of Justice (Direction de la protection judiciaire de la jeunesse auprès de la Ministère de la justice). The delegates were interested in the presentation about the education sanctions, measures of control and punishments, esp. closed education centres and centres of reinforced control (Les centres éducatifs renforcés et les centres éducatifs fermés). For the Lithuanian visitors this knowledge was of great value now after the reform of Penal Code (2003), which places much more attention and role to prevention as opposed to repression measures. The rights of parents with regard to children placed in collective children s houses (Maisons d enfants collectives) and particularities of the procedures of adoption in France were also of great interest to the visitors. A debate was also initiated about the age of criminal responsibility (13 years for France, 16 years for Lithuania) and the starting age of protection for minors. 5

6 3. Service of the access to law and justice and the policy of the city, of the Ministry of Justice (Services de l accès au droit et à la justice et de la politique de la ville auprès de la Ministère de la justice). A discussion was carried out about the structure and financing of Maisons de Justice et de Droit. In Lithuania there are no direct equivalent structures grouping the representatives of the justice system, police and social workers. Instead, joint agreements are signed for the provision of legal counselling and information by delegated lawyers and social workers. The issue of family violence was widely discussed with a focus on the increasing violence of children towards parents, modifications within the family structures, role of the media in increasing the aggressiveness manifested by children. Violence against women (violences faites aux femmes) was a separate issue for a debate. A greater recognition of this problem in Lithuania allows for a wide national discussion, which was not the case several years ago. Professional training for the policemen working with victims of crime and violence is a subject of continuous discussion in France. In Lithuania, the majority of policemen dealing with these delicate cases have finished specialised courses or studies necessary to provide adequate assistance to victims. Finally, the question concerning non-profit organisations was posed, their methods of working and financing. The delegates wanted to know if in France the associations look out for the victims and are involved in their identification in order to solicit more financing from the state. Conclusions On the whole, the delegates found the exchange visit very interesting and very practical for their jobs and future career developments. Visits in institutions on both national and local level were particularly appreciated due to the possibility of discovering existing links between advocated and implemented measures in the area of crime prevention. The idea of voluntary cooperation between the police and a wide range of partners was considered as particularly innovative as well as a resort to mediation when solving conflicts. Moreover, on-site visits in two cities in the Paris area enabled the Lithuanian representatives gain first hand experience about how security problems are solved locally. Future cooperation Cooperation with the Law Institute of Lithuania is already going on thanks to their participation in the INTI Prevention and Mediation programme, as well as their membership in the network Urban Safety Training in Europe. As for the city of Anykščiai and Raseiniai, participation in joint programmes will be proposed, both as observers to projects under implementation and as active members to newly-submitted projects. They will be also officially invited to join the network and share good practices. 6