The Youth Crime Prevention Desk in Zandspruit is a structure or unit associated with a police station, cluster and office of the Provincial Police Commissioner that is made up of young volunteers involved in leading and implementing crime-prevention programmes.
Executive member of the Youth Desk in Gauteng, Solomon Modiba said the national youth policy encourages government departments to raise the confidence of the youth so that they can contribute meaningfully to their own development and to the broader society. “An elaboration of this value is found as one of the principles of the national youth policy titled ‘youth participation and inclusion’. Through this principle service providers are urged to design policies, strategy and programmes for and with young people by sharing information, creating opportunities and involving them in decision-making as active participants in their own development.”
In terms of this principal, youth crime-prevention officials are encouraged to mobilise young people to partake in youth crime prevention. Modiba added that the intention is to reduce idleness and to empower young people against the risk of committing offences or becoming victims.
The Youth Crime Prevention Desk involves young people in the Zandspruit community in activities that are focused on safety and crime prevention. “Officials supporting the youth desk will be police officers from a particular police station, cluster or province who will be working in support of the youth crime prevention desk in the fight against crime, and linking the youth desk with other government departments, NGOs, etc when the need arises,” he concluded.
