They are still young and yet already on the path to a criminal career: young multiple offenders. Before the spiral finally turns downwards, the North Rhine-Westphalian police want to prevent this with a new project: "Kurve kriegen" aims to show the way out of crime.
When children as young as eight years old commit crimes and their offenses become more frequent or more serious as they get older, a young person is at risk of becoming a prolific offender. If they continue on their chosen path and don't get their act together in time, these young people can easily end up going off the rails permanently.
In order to prevent this at an early stage, the NRW police have launched the "Kurve kriegen" initiative. The concept focuses on early help instead of late harshness. No child is born an offender. This is a development in the wrong direction. The aim is to counteract this by correctly interpreting the early signals that indicate an ongoing criminal career and reacting consistently.
If a child comes to the attention of the police within twelve months due to an act of violence or three serious property crimes, they can be supervised by "Kurve kriegen" - even before they reach the age of criminal responsibility at 14. Special expertise is required when dealing with these children and young adolescents. For this reason, educational specialists from independent child and youth welfare organizations have been integrated into the police teams. The initiative is based on the principle of voluntariness. If the parents agree, the educational specialist visits the family and starts work. They consult with the youth welfare office, draw up a needs profile for the children and coordinate cooperation with the other players in the network. Cooperation with the parents is very important here. As part of "Kurve kriegen", they are offered various types of support in the form of counseling sessions and parent training. A whole host of problems often lead to a slide into delinquency. As soon as the educational specialist has gained an overall impression, the first steps - tailored to each individual - can be taken. The aim is to achieve social integration through the various offers, for example through learning aids, language or sports courses. . The "Kurve kriegen" initiative is intended to have a lasting effect, which is why the offers are available to participants for two years.
The NRW initiative "Kurve kriegen" aims to reduce the number of crimes committed by children and young people. It is based on the conviction that Prevention is the best protection - for both victims and offenders.