OSCE advances youth crime prevention through strengthened multi-stakeholder co-operation in South-Eastern Europe

As part of their efforts to strengthen early prevention of youth involvement in crime, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and OSCE Mission to Serbia, organized a regional, practice-oriented training for law enforcement and social services professionals from Montenegro and Serbia in Belgrade, Serbia on 27 and 28 January.

The training brought together practitioners working directly with and for young people, providing a platform to strengthen practical skills in identifying and prioritizing youth crime cases as well as in responding to key risk factors such as social vulnerability and exposure to criminal recruitment. Through interactive expert-led sessions, group work and practical exercises, participants examined how co-ordinated and timely early interventions can prevent at-risk youth from entering a criminal pathway.

A strong focus was placed on international good practices in youth crime prevention, including evidence-based and multidisciplinary approaches from both policing and social work perspectives. Participants discussed how these models can be adapted to national and local contexts in Montenegro and Serbia, highlighting the critical role of institutionalized co-operation and effective information-sharing mechanisms between police, social services and other relevant stakeholders.

“This regional training enabled the exchange of experiences and good practices in prevention. We greatly benefited from the examples presented during the training, as these initiatives are practical, clearly structured, cost-effective and serve the best interests of young people with behavioural challenges,” said a participant from Serbia.

Looking ahead, participants reflected on concrete next steps and possible follow-up activities at the national level, including the piloting and scaling-up of youth crime prevention practices inspired by international models. The training concluded with a shared commitment to translate lessons learned into action and to further strengthen early prevention efforts across South-Eastern Europe.

The training was organized within the framework of the OSCE-wide extrabudgetary project “Enhancing youth crime and drug use prevention through education on legality and awareness campaigns addressing threats of organized crime and corruption”, funded by Italy, with additional support from Andorra, Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland and Thailand.