Dear reader,
As a representative of Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the EU and as EUCPN chair, I am delighted and honoured to present to you the latest EUCPN newsletter.
Germany’s Council Presidency is marked by the coronavirus. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives in recent months, including the way we work together: instead of holding meetings and conferences where we can speak to each other in person, we now come together online. This growing use of digital technology offers an opportunity which we want to make the most of. Right now, we are considering whether to organise the Best Practice Conference (BPC) and the presentation of the European Crime Prevention Award (ECPA) in early December as an online event. We are looking forward to the many exciting projects to be presented, and an online format would allow for a much larger audience and the chance to reach more practitioners at local level.
During our Presidency, we are focusing on the challenge of preventing family-based organised crime. In various European countries, organised crime and petty crime are often associated with distinct social groups, many of which are organised as clans or extended families. Individuals who wish to leave this milieu can do so only at the price of severing all ties to their families and their social environment. At the same time, young people growing up in such an environment are at high risk of viewing criminal activity as a normal way of life. With this year’s ECPA, we would like to recognise preventive approaches which reach out to these groups and help break this cycle.
Another important focus during the German Presidency is updating the Multiannual Strategy for the European Crime Prevention Network to define the objectives and measures for the next five years. We have set up two working groups: one on an evidence-based approach and one on governance. The two groups have already started working. We will collate their results and discuss them at the Board Meeting on 16 and 17 September, where we will also work out topics and content for the Multiannual Strategy.
I hope you enjoy reading this EUCPN newsletter, and I would like to thank the EUCPN Secretariat for putting it together and the Member States for their contributions.
Dr. Sonja Kock
EUCPN Chair
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