Brussels, 02/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - As announced at the informal meeting of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs (see EUROPE of 6/7 March, p.12), the Portuguese Presidency of the Council is organising a "high-level conference on crime prevention" in Praia da Falesia (Algarve) on Thursday and Friday. At the informal meeting in March, Portuguese Home Affairs Minister Fernando Gomes had already indicated that the work would focus on: a) urban crime and juvenile delinquency that is "often connected to drug-addiction"; b) financial crime and money laundering. The work of the conference will serve to draw up a paper proposing an action programme that will then be submitted to the JHA Council (Justice/Home Affairs) on 29/30 May, the Presidency's aim - resting on Article 29 of the EU Treaty - being to lay down the foundations for a common prevention policy, in the framework of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. In concrete terms, the conference will examine: i) current EU-wide initiatives and projects; ii) prevention methods in Member States, so as to ensure information exchange on criminal trends and best practices; iii) principles, priorities and means to take on board for later action at EU level. To prepare the work, the Presidency has sent two questionnaires to Member States:
- What crime prevention policy for the EU?. The Presidency is requesting information on: a) the preventive aspects to take into consideration; b) national prevention programmes (experiences, coordinating methods, citizen and media collaboration, priorities identified, especially at the level of the target sectors - urban insecurity, juvenile delinquency, policies for children and the young, protection of women, children and the elederly, prevention of crime associated with drugs - and social policies, among other things programme to combat social exclusion and poverty); c) common priorities to take on board at the level of the EU's internal and external policies, notably against cross-border organised and financial crime; d) way to develop information exchanges on best practices (which could necessitate the creation of a structure); e) priorities to take on board regarding juvenile delinquency, urban crime, financial crime, crime linked to illegal immigration, new technologies, the environment, as well as traffic infringements; f) the appropriateness of a Community-funded programme, if necessary resting on a structure; g) police and legal cooperation to introduce in the matter (simplification and strengthening of forms of cooperation between national police forces and Europol; strengthening the role of Europol; development of a network of police contact points; harmonisation of the treatment of statistics on crime…).
- Crime prevention in the Union's Member States. The Presidency has asked for information to be supplied on the current characteristics and tendencies of crime, insecurity and victimisation, national, regional and local prevention bodies, the role of local authorities and NGOs, that of the police and private security companies, the role of the criminal justice system.
