Meeting of the Coordination Council on Decree No. 18 and the Commission on Juvenile Affairs: adolescent crime in the Vitebsk region decreased by a quarter in the first quarter
In the Vitebsk region, the number of crimes among minors in the first quarter of this year decreased by a quarter compared to the same period in 2018. This trend was announced at a joint meeting of the regional coordination council on Decree No. 18 and the commission for juvenile affairs.
This year, there is a downward trend in juvenile delinquency: in the first quarter, it decreased by 26.5% compared to the same period in 2018. However, over these three months, there has been an increase in particularly serious and grave crimes among minors (from 4 to 7). According to the results of 2018, juvenile delinquency decreased by 13.5%, but in some districts, it increased, most significantly in the Vitebsk, Gluboksky, and Zhelezhnodorozhny districts of the regional center.
The Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Vladimir Penin, who chaired the meeting, noted that while assessing the positive results of the preventive bodies' work, one must remember the shortcomings. Problems in the sphere of children's rights will always be relevant, and formalism on the part of officials in fulfilling their duties is unacceptable.
"When conducting monitoring, priorities in assessing the results of state bodies' work on protecting children's interests should be reviewed. Firstly, attention should be paid to personnel selection at all levels of the child protection system. Responsible people, professionals in their field, should work in this area. Secondly, priorities in assessing work efficiency should be the living conditions of a specific child in the family and the timeliness of measures taken for his protection. Special attention should be paid to foster families. Their number in the Vitebsk region is growing, which is good, but what is the quality of their work, how children live there - these are things that need to be inquired about," emphasized Vladimir Penin.
He directed the deputy chairmen of city and district executive committees, and heads of education departments to work systematically with this category of families. Today, a joint meeting of the regional coordination council on Decree No. 18 and the commission for juvenile affairs was held at the Regional Executive Committee. At the meeting, specialists discussed the state of affairs.
juvenile delinquency, causes and conditions for committing offenses, the effectiveness of the work of district councils and commissions, etc.