SPIN-programme
SPIN-programme is a successful sports-based intervention programme for 9-18 year olds from areas with fewer opportunities for young people and higher levels of youth crime. The main aim of the programme is to provide development opportunities, improve social skills and reduce antisocial behaviour amongst participating young people. The long-term aim is to reduce youth crime, build stronger communities, lower the rate of falling out of education and increase the number of young people moving into skilled labour force.
The programme brings together multiple stakeholders that work with the same goals, but don't necessarily cooperate daily otherwise (schools, the police, the local government, football clubs, private sector companies), thus creating a network to ensure the fulfilment of the programme's aims, also creating safer communities and being one of the community policing intervention examples.
Each season of the programme lasts from August to June and consists of three sessions per week for the target group young people (both boys and girls). SPIN involves two thirds of training and one third of developing social skills in a strategically planned set of workshops. From 2015 to 2019, the programme has reached over 1000 target group young people in 10 different municipalities (Tallinn, Viimsi, Rae, Keila, Rakvere, Kohtla-Järve, Narva, Tartu, Tõrva, Pärnu).
The programme has been confirmed to have a positive impact on its target group. The yearly reports show that among all the young people that have participated for a full season in the programme there is a 10% improvement of results at school, while 21% on the participants have improved their fulfilment of duties at school. The reports also show increases in self-control and self-esteem, with decreases in misbehaviour, impulsiveness and readiness to engage in risk behaviour. All these have to be considered against a reverse trend among the overall age group.
The Programme started in January 2015 and it still running.
Last review: January 2020.