Police and Security, Vol. 22 No. 1, 2013.
Professional paper
Effective Community-Based Prevention: Implications for the Councils for Prevention
Miranda Novak
; Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia
Josipa Mihić
; Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia
Josipa Bašić
; Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
This paper will present guidelines for the Councils for Prevention conceived within the project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Croatian Ministry of Interior, "Support in en-forcement of systematic crime prevention work and establishment of Crime Prevention Coordination Unit". Part of a project aimed to develop a model of Councils for Prevention functioning which would be applicable and suitable for all communities and Prevention Councils across Croatia. Evaluation team from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences was involved into a mentioned project with the aim to, in accordance with theoretical models for the development of community-based prevention, evaluate the overall functioning of two Councils for Prevention in Croatia and to formulate recommendations for their improvement. The aim of this paper is to provide a model of organization of the Councils for Prevention in Croatia on the basis of the results of research conducted in 2010 with the Councils for Prevention in Cakovac and Split. Presented guidelines for improvement of Councils’ effectiveness are related to the process of Council’s establishing process, the involvement of Council’s members and the proposed model of the Council's activities and cooperation with other bodies in the local community. Also, recommendations are made regarding the improvement of the functioning of the Councils, funding and visibility in the community. It has been shown that the application of the scientific knowledge in the field of community-based prevention, conduction of participatory research and initiation of cooperation of key people at various levels are promising ways of investing in the quality and effectiveness of prevention activities within community. All of this can contribute to the development of science-based prevention in the community, and the positioning of the prevention as a key driver of this approach.
Keywords
community-based prevention; councils for prevention; effectiveness of prevention practice; science-based prevention
Hrčak ID:
105616
URI
Publication date:
1.7.2013.
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