implemented by the Kragujevac police from September to mid November 2012, and included
lectures at schools, street events and workshops for parents, aimed at improving the safety
of youth. The project focused on raising awareness about peer violence and juvenile
delinquency at times when the youth is not under parental or school supervision. The target
groups of the initiative were juveniles from secondary schools, as well as parents, teachers,
the media and the general public. On 2 October, the Mission supported the organization of a
street performance in Kragujevac marking the International Day of Non-Violence.
Educational material was distributed to interested citizens while local media representatives
covered the entire event.
During October, the Mission supported the project “Reliable Connection – We Understand
Each Other even without Using our Voice” by the Sremska Mitrovica district police. The
project included sign language training for 16 police officers of the Sremska Mitrovica district
police. The training consisted of three cycles and targeted police officers from the uniform
police, criminal police, traffic police and administrative personnel working on issuing personal
identification documents. This activity was aimed at enhancing the work of the police with
deaf and hearing-impaired citizens. After the training, interactive workshops were organized
jointly with the Inter-municipal Organization of the Deaf and Hearing Impaired to practice the
newly applied skills.
On 4 October, the Mission facilitated a public debate on the results of the safety perception
survey among secondary school students in the city of Bor as one of the activities within the
project “Safe School – You Hold the Key” by the Bor district police. The debate was attended
by approximately 200 students. It started off with a presentation of the perception survey on
school safety, which showed that students were mostly concerned about vandalism at
schools, personal property and peer violence, whereas drugs and alcohol abuse were
perceived to be less of a concern. Furthermore, students considered the streets surrounding
the schools as the most unsafe areas compared to school yards and classrooms. When it
came to sharing their concerns with others, the students expressed most trust in their
teachers while school pedagogues, psychologists, police officers and principals were ranked
lower. The introductory presentation was followed by a discussion among Bor police
representatives and the students. The results of the perception survey were to be used by all
relevant agencies in the town (the police, school authorities, local self-government and social
services) in planning their future activities in the area of crime prevention. The overall goal of
the project was to encourage future generations of secondary school students to actively
participate in creating a safer environment in their schools.
On 9 October, the Mission, in the frame of the project on the “Protection and Support to
Victims of Domestic Violence” by the Vranje district police, supported the organization of a
street event by the local police in Vranje marking the International Day of Non-Violence. The
event was an opportunity to distribute information material and offer advice to interested
members of the public on the issue. The local media was also there to cover the event. The
entire project aimed to raise awareness of the issue of domestic violence and it entailed
numerous activities such as training for police officers in domestic violence, a media
campaign on raising awareness of the problem of domestic violence, public debates on the
issue in remote rural areas, and an open-door day at the Vranje police department. On 24
November, the Mission supported the Vranje police and their partners in organizing another
street event marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women,
marked internationally on 25 November. The event was co-ordinated by the representatives
of Vranje police and local NGOs, with the presence of local media.
On 20 October, the Mission supported an event marking the finalization of the project
"Practice Sports – Stop the Violence" by the Valjevo Police Directorate. The project was
implemented by the Valjevo district police, and aimed at reducing and preventing violence
among primary schoolchildren. It was primarily intended for primary sixth-graders and
included sports tournaments in four primary schools. All the events were organized by the
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