Preventing the Victimisation of Minors in the Digital Age

The fifteenth EUCPN Toolbox is published in the framework of the topic of the Romanian Presidency of the EUCPN: preventing the victimisation of minors — online and offline. The particular focus of the present Toolbox is on awareness-raising and effective communication with minors in the digital age. Since the rise of the internet, minors’ use of media and ICTs has changed dramatically, and continues to do so. This necessitates the continuous evaluation of communication strategies and their adaptation to new realities. This Toolbox covers the pros and cons, dos and don’ts of social media marketing, influencers, game-based learning and gamification, online police officers, and smartphone apps in crime prevention, and how they compare to old-school offline interventions.

This Toolbox consists of three parts. The first paints the current intelligence picture: what we know about the victimisation of minors and their ICT and media use. The second gives an overview of good practices, both providing recommendations and identifying pitfalls. The third lists a number of good examples from practice.