Section 6 Crime Prevention Activities Crime prevention activities play an important role in rehabilitation activities, in combination with measures to promote reform and rehabilitation of offenders and delinquents such as probation and parole. Crime prevention activities include raising of public awareness, improvement of the social environment, and encouragement for activities by local residents. Crime prevention activities as part of rehabilitation activities are characterized by enhancement and promotion of a sense of social unity and sympathy with social norms among local residents in order to prevent offenses from occurring. Another purpose of crime prevention activities is to develop better understanding of and more interest in rehabilitation of those who have committed crime or delinquency as well as to accept them as members of the community and assist with their rehabilitation, with the aim of preventing them from committing crime or delinquency again. The following crime prevention measures are implemented: street public relations, lecture meetings, dialogue meetings ("mini-meetings") focusing on delinquency problems, counseling services regarding juvenile delinquency, activities for eliminating detrimental books and magazines from society, and open discussion workshops taking actual offenses and delinquencies as examples, as well as resident participation/experience-based events, including sports events, workshops (learning by doing), and parent-child interaction events. These activities are carried out throughout the year by probation offices, voluntary probation officer associations, women's associations for rehabilitation aid and BBS associations, in cooperation with other related organizations and associations. One of such crime prevention activities is the "Movement for a Brighter Society," which is carried out in a systematic manner mainly in July of every year. In 2002, over 3.7 million people participated in a wide variety of activities across the country.
|