Centre for Civic Education (CCE), within the project “The position of juveniles in a criminal proceeding – from prevention to reintegration!”, in the period from April 13 to May 26 organized 10 workshops in high schools throughout Montenegro on the prevention of juvenile delinquency.
When selecting schools, regional representation was taken into account, hence secondary schools in the Northern, Central and Southern regions were included. Thus, the workshops were held at the Secondary School of Economics “Mirko Vešović” in Podgorica, Gymnasium “Petar I Petrovic Njegoš” in Danilovgrad, Secondary Vocational School Cetinje, Secondary Vocational School Nikšić, Gymnasium Kotor, Secondary Mixed School “Ivan Goran Kovačić” in Herceg Novi, Secondary School of Economics and Catering in Bar, Gymnasium “Tanasije Pejatović” in Pljevlja, Secondary Mixed School “Bećo Bašić” in Plav and Secondary Vocational School in Rožaje.
Within these 10 workshops, about 300 high school students, under the age of 17, throughout Montenegro had the opportunity to learn about the concept of juvenile delinquency, forms of delinquent behavior, the consequences of such behavior, as well as the growing problem of peer violence in high schools. Young people at that age are already criminally responsible, so the workshops served to get acquainted with the Law on the Treatment of Juveniles in Criminal Procedure, in order to know their rights and obligations in the event of a potential criminal procedure.
The workshops were held in cooperation with the Police Administration, and inspectors Snezana Babović, Gordana Bubanja and Alma Hot, who work in the field of suppressing juvenile delinquency, gave lectures on this very sensitive topic. Also, high school students were presented with the short film “Transfiguration“, which deals with the topic of peer violence, and it is the product of the work of the NGO Bubulj and students of the Secondary School of Economics and Catering in Bar.
The project The position of juveniles in criminal proceedings – from prevention to reintegration! is implemented by the CCE with the support of the Ministry of Justice. The objective of the project is to strengthen the capacity of the competent authorities to improve the quality of respect for the fundamental rights of persons deprived of their liberty in Montenegro, through more efficient implementation of modern legal solutions with a focus on minors, but also to establish a framework for more effective prevention of juvenile delinquency.
Vasilije Radulović, Programme associate