Results from Recent European Research on Youth Violence Prevention: Some Lessons for Serbia

Abstract

This paper analyses the results of a study entitled: Youth Deviance and Youth Violence: A European Multi-agency Perspective on Best Practices in Prevention and Control (YouPrev). This assessment was conducted in order to shed some light on the effects of current youth violence prevention measures in six European countries (Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) and contributes to the future development of juvenile violent crime prevention in Serbia. Comparative and evaluative studies on preventive measures, as well as the exchange of experience and best practices, are considered preconditions for any appreciable improvement in youth violence prevention. Juvenile crime prevention in Serbia is (at least declaratively) widely understood as initiatives that require a systematic multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral approach. However, similar to the conclusions adopted in relation to European countries covered by the YouPrev study, juvenile delinquency prevention in Serbia must be improved, using evaluation and fundamental systematic approach. The importance of both future research on risk and protective factors, as well as a rigorous impact evaluation of preventive interventions, should be acknowledged in order to make a significant and viable progress in juvenile crime prevention in Serbia.