About Us
The Youth Crime Prevention Desk Plettenberg Bay and YCPD Eden Cluster are volunteer-based structures based at Plettenberg Bay South Africa. The desks encourage and enable young people to participate actively in identifying the causes of youth violence and crime, and to collaborate in creating social crime prevention strategies for their communities.
What We Do
Recognising that young people in South Africa are a key target group as both victims and perpetrators of crime, the Youth Crime Prevention Desks (YCPDs) in Gauteng mobilise and involve young people in violence and crime prevention interventions. These volunteer-based structures mainly comprise youth between the ages of 18 and 27 and are based at police stations within the province. They encourage and enable young people to participate actively in identifying the causes of youth violence and crime, and to collaborate in creating social crime prevention activities with relevant stakeholders.
This programme seeks to address various aspects of crime and its impact on youth. This includes:
- · Developing cooperative relations between SAPS and youth
- · Assisting in identifying safety needs of youth
- · Developing and implementing programmes to address identified safety needs
- · Enabling youth to act as good citizens and role models
- · Empowering youth in crime prevention, as well as communication, conflict-resolution, and interpersonal skills
How We Do It
The core objective of the YCPD programme is for young people to help identify causes of youth violence and crime and to work with other role-players to design and implement relevant social crime prevention interventions.
The YCPD members coordinate youth safety activities and projects. The main pillars are school safety, substance abuse prevention, and the prevention of violence against women and children. The idea is to work with other youth and youth groups to develop projects that are attractive, sustainable and implementable, and to respond to the specific safety needs of their communities. Initiatives include:
- Sports against crime
- Substance abuse campaigns and projects
- School safety desks
- Motivational talks
- Prison talks
- Child protection
- Crime awareness through public meetings
- School talks and debates