BPC-ECPA
European Crime Prevention Award and Best Practice Conference
#ECPA2024: Call for projects is closed!
The EUCPN organises an annual Conference for sharing and disseminating experience and knowledge of Best Practices in preventing crime and increasing safety and security in the EU Member States (BPC). At the same time the European Crime Prevention Award (ECPA) is also handed out. The ECPA is a contest that rewards the best European crime prevention project. The nominated projects are presented each year during the Best Practice Conference. The theme is chosen by the Presidency of the EUCPN and is in line with the EU priorities.
Interested in participating?
Participation in ECPA is open to any project, initiative or package of measures. An objective of the project must be to reduce crime and the fear of crime within the specified theme. Entries can originate from, for example: local authorities, the police, educational institutions, community groups, sports clubs, youth organisations, business community, probation service, neighbourhood watch schemes, parish councils, public transport operators, voluntary organisations/groups etc. The persons entering the projects do not need to have participated in the projects themselves. It is entirely possible that the initiative of a third party is brought to the attention of the jury. Each participating country may enter one project for consideration under the European Crime Prevention Award scheme. It is up to each participating country to decide how to select projects for consideration under the scheme.
There are some binding criteria:
- The project shall focus on prevention and/or reduction of everyday crime and fear of crime within the specified theme
- The project shall have been evaluated and have achieved most or all of its objectives
- The project shall, as far as possible, be innovative, involving new methods or new approaches
- The project shall be based on co-operation between partners, where possible
- The project shall be capable of replication by organisations and groups in other Member States
Entries for the European Crime Prevention Award should be submitted through the National Representative of each Member State to the EUCPN Secretariat. The current call for projects was launched on 1 July 2024.
#ECPA2024
This year the Hungarian Presidency of the EUCPN will emphasise the prevention of reoffending. The growing number of inmates in many European countries is a pressing concern. Research indicates that the social conditions, educational levels and vocational qualifications of inmates are generally less favorable than those of the average population. Consequently, developing skills and competencies during imprisonment is of utmost importance. Therefore, tertiary prevention, which includes resocialisation, reintegration, and reoffending prevention, must play a more significant role.
The aim of the 2024 ECPA is to identify and promote European best practices that effectively reduce recidivism rates and enhance successful reintegration. The focus of the Hungarian Presidency includes methods that facilitate employment, lawful behavior, and the successful reintegration of adults or juveniles into society during imprisonment through training, employment, or other programs. Projects that support inmates' reintegration in halfway houses fall within the scope of this call for proposals. However, courses and training organized for ex-inmates after their release are not within the objectives of this call. Three-quarters of the activities must involve work carried out within the correctional institution, and one-quarter may pertain to activities after release. The focus should be on activities conducted within the correctional institution, with reintegration programs after release serving as supplementary services.
The type of crime committed by the inmates participating in the project is irrelevant. The project can be organized and conducted by the correctional institution itself or involve activities implemented by NGOs that measurably support the reintegration of inmates into society after release.
Each Member State is invited to submit one project addressing the prevention of reoffending to compete in the ECPA contest. We kindly request that projects for the ECPA be submitted in English to the EUCPN Secretariat (eucpn@ibz.eu), via the National Representatives of the EUCPN. Each EU Member State may submit one entry. The deadline for project submissions is September 30, 2024. The Best Practice Conference, where all national entries will be presented, will be held on December 3-4 in Budapest. The award ceremony is scheduled for December 4, accompanied by a gala dinner in the evening.
On this webpage the template for the ECPA projects and the rules and procedures for awarding and presenting the ECPA can be found. Only projects submitted using the provided template will be evaluated by the jury.
#ECPA2023
The European Crime Prevention Award (ECPA) and Best Practice Conference (BPC) took place on 13 and 14 December 2023 in Valencia. The theme was preventing the trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation and other kinds of exploitation.
Discover the winners:
1. Portugal: MERCADORIA HUMANA 4 (Human Merchandise 4) - Awareness Project on Human Trafficking
2. Greece: National Emergency Response Mechanism (NERM)
3. Romania: The prevention campaign “Prison is not only behind bars!"
The aim of the BPC-ECPA 2023 was to exchange experiences and good practices, most importantly in the areas of labour exploitation. Human trafficking can be considered as the contemporary form of slavery of the 21st century, which constitutes a serious violation of the dignity and freedom of the person and a form of serious crime. Moreover, it is important to highlight that specific groups, such as vulnerable people, especially women, children and men in delicate physical or economic conditions, are the main targets of this type of criminality