Effective crime prevention should not be the exclusive responsibility of law enforcement and criminal justice systems. Instead, it requires holistic and inclusive approaches that address root causes of violence and crime and involves all relevant sectors of Government, the private sector and civil society actors, including the sport sector and youth.
Sports for development and crime prevention
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development underlines the growing contribution of sports as a tool for peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect. It also highlights the contributions that sport can make to the empowerment of communities as a whole, to individuals (particularly women and young people) as well as to health, education and social inclusion.
Respect, equality and fair play, some of the core values in sport, are also fundamental principles for peaceful and inclusive societies.
Sport provides a useful vehicle to build important social and life skills, to support education and learning, promote positive youth development, physical and mental health and wellbeing and positive social behaviour and creating safe public spaces that offer a conducive learning environment in which young people can positively interact and develop.
In doing so, sport addresses important risk and protective factors associated with violence, crime and substance use disorders, especially amongst youth, including those that are in contact with the law. Participation in targeted sport programmes can prevent their victimization and engagement in violence and crime and empower them to fulfil their potentials as agent of positive change in their communities.
The contribution of sport in empowering and engaging young people is also acknowledged by Member States, for example in the Kyoto Declaration as well as in a number of General Assembly resolutions that request action to integrate sport into youth crime prevention and criminal justice strategies and use it for addressing risk factors and protective factors associated with youth violence and crime. They also call for initiatives that use sport to support, among others, the reintegration of young offenders, preventing gender-based violence and promoting girls’ empowerment.
Empowering young people and local communities
While young people are important agents of change, they are also at a high risk of victimization and involvement in crime, violence and drug use. Sport and sport-based interventions provide an effective way to engage young people and support positive youth development while strengthening their skills and resilience to violence, crime and drug use.
By placing young people at the core of its activities and targeting in particular vulnerable youth in marginalized communities impacted by social exclusion, violence, including gang violence, crime and conflicts, UNODC seeks to reach out to those more at risk, leaving no one behind, and build the potential of young people as positive agents of change.
Furthermore, sport is a generator of social capital, helping to mobilize the community by promoting engagement, togetherness and teamwork, promote values of fair play and respect for diversity, and contribute to inclusion and social cohesion.
Global initiative on Youth Crime Prevention through Sport
The way that sport programmes are designed and delivered is crucial in achieving positive results and crime prevention objectives. Overall, sport can be more effective when part of holistic responses and intentionally aim to deliver non sport outcomes that address risks and strengthen protective factors of youth violence and crime.
Against this backdrop, UNODC, within its mandate area of crime prevention, facilitates the implementation of effective and evidence-based initiatives that explore the added value of sport as a vehicle to increase young people’s resilience to violence, crime and drug use.
Ultimately, UNODC seeks to enhance the capacity of Member States to effectively use and integrate sport in the context of their youth crime prevention strategies. With this goal in mind, the Office engages in the development of guidance tools, the provision of technical assistance and capacity building activities, awareness raising campaigns, policy events, youth and sport festivals, youth consultations and workshops, grants schemes for civil society organizations, and the creation of safe and accessible sport facilities through refurbishment and provision of sport equipment.
UNODC's evidence-informed and sports-based life skills training curriculum - was designed as a unique tool that transfers the accumulated expertise of the United Nations and other partners in implementing life skills training for crime and drug use prevention to sport settings. Read more
UNODC supports Member States in their efforts against violent extremism by developing a set of tailored technical guidance materials on the use of sport for preventing violent extremism among youth and building the capacity of policymakers and practitioners on the effective use of sport to address key drivers of violent extremism. Read more
SC:ORE seeks to support the effective use of sport in the context of youth violence and crime prevention, enhance the role of sport and of the sport sector in this regard, promote multisectoral approaches and partnerships, including between the sport and criminal justice sectors, and build knowledge on evidence-based programming in this area. Read more
