Not a lecture, but an interactive session: Vitebsk law enforcement officers and OSVOD held a dialogue with teenagers on safety issues. The meeting at the Media Center of the Vitebsk region discussed the most pressing issues: safe behavior on the street, cybercrimes and drug-related crimes, and theft.
Teenagers remember information better when they receive it through informal communication, when they are spoken to as adults. Another meeting with Vitebsk law enforcement officers and OSVOD reminded students about hidden risks, how to act in specific dangerous situations, and where to turn for help.
As noted by Dmitry Prudnikov, Head of the Department for Organizing the Work of the Juvenile Inspectorate of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, 140 crimes were committed by teenagers aged 14-18 in the region in 2025. Currently, individual preventive work is being carried out with more than 1200 children, which is an important step in creating conditions for their protection from negative influences and reducing the crime rate.
The next topic raised was safety on rivers and bodies of water.
"For those under 14 years of age, according to the rules for protecting human life on water, approaching or appearing on bodies of water is strictly prohibited without adult supervision. If your parents or adult acquaintances enjoy ice fishing, warn them that they must wear a life jacket. Safe ice is only the ice that no one goes on," reminded Vyacheslav Gorin, Head of the diving and rescue service of the Vitebsk Regional Organization of OSVOD.
Ensuring a safe transport environment for children is particularly relevant during the winter period. Deteriorating weather conditions create additional risks for young pedestrians, especially near railway tracks.
– When approaching railway tracks, always look left and right for approaching trains. Listen to the information provided by the railway station duty officer about the train's approach. Cross only in designated areas and where there are informational signs and light and sound signals, – noted Dmitry Kazakevich, Senior Inspector for Special Assignments of the Public Security Group at Transport Facilities of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee Department of Internal Affairs.
During the conversation, Dmitry Kazakevich reported on a recent inspection of the Luchosa station territory, where a potentially dangerous situation was identified. Children were riding on tubing near the railway tracks.
The Internet has firmly entered our lives, and the young people present at the meeting agreed that they cannot imagine a day without a mobile phone.
– Every third crime today is committed in the sphere of information and computer technologies. Therefore, we must be more attentive on the Internet so as not to be drawn into illegal activities and not to become victims of fraudsters. For example, an online game: it seems to us that it is just a space for entertainment. In reality, cybercriminals are active even here, – noted Yulia Koldybova, Senior Operative Officer of the Operational and Analytical Work Department of the Cybercrime Counteraction Directorate.
The ideal result of the "live" communication meeting was that the teenagers left with clear action algorithms. This is true prevention.
"Vitebskiye Vesti"
