Georgia: The Ministry of Justice of Georgia organized the opening event of the International Conference “Comprehensive Approach to Crime Prevention.”
The conference aims to deepen inter-agency cooperation in crime prevention and probation, promote the professional development of specialists in the field, and exchange information about existing services and resources.
Gela Geladze, Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia, participated in the opening event of the international, two-day conference. During his speech, the deputy minister spoke about several significant projects the ministry undertook to raise awareness among adolescents, violence, and crime prevention, including the social worker component in school spaces.
Gela Geladze also emphasized the importance of starting a crime prevention course for teachers in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth, and the Ministry of Justice. According to the deputy minister, such initiatives will, on the one hand, protect adolescents from making possible mistakes and conflicts with the law and, on the other hand, ensure community safety.
Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze opened the conference. The head of Crime Prevention, Implementation of Non-Jailable Sentences and Probation Agency, Lado Kheladze; Deputy Minister of Refugees, Labor, Health and Social Protection Irina Tsakadze; Vice Minister of Internal Affairs Aleksandre Darakhvelidze; Advisor to the Prime Minister on Human Rights Protection Niko Tatulashvili and Parliament’s Man Chairman of the Committee for Protection of Rights and Civil Integration Rati Jonatamishvili.
The representative of the European Confederation presented the research report on the Georgian probation system and noted that the system and its activities in Georgia have developed powerfully, and this process has accelerated in recent years.
During the two-day conference, Georgia will share the experiences with partner countries about innovative approaches in crime prevention and probation and services such as Georgian innovation “PROBBOX,” “Digital University,” crime prevention courses for school teachers, and others. In its turn, the Georgian side will get acquainted with the best practices of European countries, which will contribute to the rehabilitation-resocialization of persons in conflict with the law and the prevention of repeated crimes and, consequently, the safety of society.
The conference will also discuss several important issues, including probation systems in European countries and developing their capabilities; the involvement of public institutions, public, non-governmental, and private sectors in crime prevention; and possibilities for rehabilitation and socialization.
The heads of the Ministries of Justice and Probation Services of Romania, the Czech Republic, Croatia, the Netherlands, and Azerbaijan attend the conference.
The international conference will end its work by adopting the Tbilisi Declaration.
